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PUERTO RICO 

Its Conditions and Possibilities 

By 
WILLIAM DINWIDDIE 

With Illustrations from 
Photographs by the Author 




NEW YORK AND LONDON 
HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS 

1899 



38128 



two COPIES N£C£IVEO. 







Copyright, 1899, by Harper & Brothers. 

Ail rights reserved. 






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INTRODUCTION 

IT has been the writer's earnest desire, in the accom- 
panying pages, which relate exclusively to our new 
possession, Puerto Rico, to place before the reader as 
complete a presentation as possible of the industrial, 
commercial, political, and social conditions existing on 
that island today; together with sufficient facts, figures, 
and comparisons of past institutions to give those per- 
sonally interested in the future development of the fertile 
isle a comprehensive grasp of the administrative prob- 
lems which confront us, and the possibilities for the em- 
barking of American business enterprises. 

Under the direction of Messrs. Harper & Brothers, the 
author spent the two months immediately following the 
Spanish evacuation of the island, constantly in touch with 
the leading Spanish citizens and native Puertoriquenos, 
who were importers, manufacturers, shopkeepers, estate- 
owners, lawyers, and politicians, and he has, by the aid 
of the varying opinions elicited, attempted to embody in 
this work a crystallization of the most profound and valu- 
able ideas expressed. 

He feels a deep appreciation of the courtesies extended 
to him by army officers — whereby he was enabled readily 
to traverse the island from end to end and make careful 
studies of agricultural and manufacturing interests — and 
wishes to tender special thanks to General Guy V. Henry 
and General John R. Brooke, who assisted him in gaining 
access to Spanish records. 



INTRODUCTION 

To the late Librarian of Congress, Honorable John 
Russell Young, he is particularly indebted for opportu- 
nity to study Puerto Rican literature in the archives of 
that library and elsewhere. 

William Dinwiddie. 

New York, March, 1899. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The Evacuation of Puerto Rico 3 

II. General Characteristics 9 

III. Prevalent Diseases in the Island and Hygienic Pre- 
cautions ' 22 

IV. Geology 27 

V. The Military Road 32 

VI. Over the Trails . . ; . , 41 

VII. The Great Caves 56 

VIII. Industrial Possibilities 65 

IX. Coffee Culture 85 

X. Sugar Culture loi 

XI. Tobacco Culture 115 

XII. Fruit-Raising, Market-Gardening and Floriculture 128 

XIII. Home Life 145 

XIV. Life Among the Peasants 155 

XV. Burden-Bearing 167 

XVI. Cock-Fighting 175 

XVII. The Principal Cities 180 

XVIII. Schools, Churches, and Charitable Institutions . . 198 

XIX. Burials and Cemeteries 209 

XX. The Money of the Islands 214 

XXI, Revenues and Taxes 225 

XXII. Courts 232 

XXIII. Political Methods 238 

XXIV. Historical Sketch 250 

APPENDIX 253 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



"THE FIRST FLASH OF FIRE AND SMOKE " . . 

SAN JUAN HARBOR — VESSELS DECORATED IN 
HONOR OF THE DAY 

SPANISH SOLDIERS IN SAN CRISTOBAL BARRACKS . 

RAISING THE FLAG OVER SAN JUAN, OCTOBER i8TH, 1 898 . 

UNITED STATES TROOPS TAKING POSSESSION OF THE ARMO- 
RY OF THE FIRST SPANISH INFANTRY, SAN JUAN . . 

THE FOOT-HILLS NEAR THE COAST OF PONCE 

THE MOUNTAINS OF CENTRAL PUERTO RICO 

CORAL FORMATIONS ON THE TRAIL BETWEEN UTUADO AND 
LARES 

THE MILITARY ROAD NEAR JUANA DIAZ 

PICTURESQUE BRIDGE ON MILITARY ROAD, NORTH OF CAGUAS 

CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN ON THE GREAT MILITARY ROAD. 
NORTH OF AYBONITO 

THE TOWN OF AYBONITO, FROM THE SOUTH — THE 
HIGHEST POINT ON THE MILITARY ROAD 

TREE FERNS ON THE ROAD 

HALF WAY TO UTUADO 

A BIT OF NARROW TRAIL OUT OF UTUADO . . . 

A SIDE TRAIL ON THE ADJUNTAS — UTUADO TRAIL . 

ON THE WAY TO THE CAVES 

DAILY TRAIN ON THE SAN JUAN-CAROLINA RAILROAD 

BEEF CATTLE OF PUERTO RICO 

THE HOT SPRINGS AT COAMO 

HAULING THE CROP OVER A HEAVY TRAIL 1 

PACK-TRAIN CARRYING COFFEE TO MARKET) 

COFFEE AND TOBACCO LANDS, NEAR CAYEY . . . 

vii 



Frontispiece 



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58 

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ILLUSTRATIONS 



■■\- • 



PUBLIC SQUARE OF LAKES Factfi 

A coffee-planter's home, lares, LOS MARIAS TRAIL 
SUGAR-CANE FIELDS AT VIEQUES, OR CRAB, ISLAND . , 

OLD SINGLE-STICK PLOUGH 

PRIMITIVE METHOD OF REMOVING THE "BAGASSE 
TYPICAL SUGAR-MILL NEAR PONCE — ANTIQUATED AND MOD- 
ERN MACHINERY COMBINED 

GIRLS STRIPPING THE LEAF TOBACCO 

FINE TOBACCO LAND — CLEARED TO THE HILL-TOPS, CAYEY 

DISTRICT 

CIGAR MAKING IN THE LARGEST FACTORY, CAYEY . . . 

A DATE-PALM ., 

THE PAWPAW-TREE, WITH EDIBLE FRUIT 

YAUTIA — LILY WITH EDIBLE TUBERS 



COUNTRY HOUSE OF A WELL-TO-DO PUERT0RIQUE5J0 \ 



GUAVA-TREE — FROM THE FRUIT OF WHICH GUAVA 
JELLY IS MADE 

THE DRAWING-ROOM OF A PUERTO RICO HOME . . . . 

NATIVE TYPES — A MOTHER AND CHILDREN IN STREET COS- 
TUME 

A PEON VILLAGE NEAR CAGUAS 

THE BREAD-WAGON OF CAGUAS . 

OXEN— THE PRINCIPAL DRAFT ANIMALS ON THE ISLAND . 

COCK-FIGHTING AT CAGUAS 

THE STREET OF THE HOLY CROSS, SAN JUAN 

A MARKET SCENE AT PONCE 

AT THE INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL, SAN JUAN 

THE TUNGILLO CHURCH, NEAR CAROLINA, BUILT IN 1813 . 

THE CHURCH AT LARES 

THE CATHEDRAL AT HORMIGUERO 

A CEMETKY IN PUERTO RICO 

A PAUPER BURIAL 

MORTUARY DECORATIONS AT PONCE 



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94 \ 
96-/ 
104 V 

106 V^ 



120V 
124 V 
136 v^ 

138 v' 
142 V 

146 ^ 



150 



V 



158 V 
164 v^ 
168 x/ 

I72V 

176 ^ 

182 '• 
188 ' 

198 V 
200 ^ 
204-- 
206 
208 , 
210 ^ 
212 V 



PUERTO RICO 



PUERTO RICO 



CHAPTER I 

THE EVACUATION 

SPAIN formally released Puerto Rico from her sov- 
ereignty at twelve o'clock on Tuesday, October i8, 
1898, by the withdrawal of her troops from the capital 
city of San Juan. It was the breaking of the last tie 
which has bound the easternmost fertile isle of the west- 
ern hemisphere to a galling yoke of tyranny and taxation 
for nearly four hundred years. 

The dawn of this memorable day in Puerto Rican his- 
tory came clear, colorless, and hot; not a cloud dotted 
the sky, and, as the sun rose toward the zenith, the nar- 
row, brick-paved streets of San Juan quivered with moist 
heat, and, in the breathless air, the surging crowds elbowed 
one another for positions of vantage within the narrow 
shadows of noonday. 

Two days before the ceremony, every hotel in the town 
was crowded to its utmost capacity, and, on the night 
before the evacuation, strangers slept three and four to- 
gether in the tiny, dark rooms, whose only source of light 
was the stained-glass doors opening into a central rotunda, 
suffering all night long from an infestation of humming, 
insatiable mosquitoes. 

3 



PUERTO RICO 

In the harbor lay a Spanish transport, ready to carry 
home the soldiers, while outside, on a calm ocean, lay 
our ships loaded with blue-uniformed men, waiting for the 
moment when the booming of the midday gun was to 
sound the death-knell of Spanish supremacy and give 
Puerto Rico to the American government. 

At daylight on Tuesday, the last callings of the Span- 
ish bugles rang through the town from the quartels of 
San Cristobal and Morro, and sixteen hundred Spanish 
soldiers prepared to march through the massive-walled 
portals, down the narrow streets of the town, and out to 
the westward suburban town of Santurce, where they were 
to camp temporarily until the arrival of a second Spanish 
steamer; but, through the courtesy of General John R. 
Brooke, commanding our forces, they were granted per- 
mission to remain in their barracks until all the Spanish 
transports arrived. 

A surrender of the conquered to the conqueror is a sad 
function from its very nature, but in this instance it was 
far more than sad ; it was the acme of human misery, 
arising, however, not from the hurt done to martial spirit, 
but from the annihilation of happy homes. The Spanish 
soldiers and Guardia Civil have married largely among 
Puerto Rican women, and have become factors in the 
domestic life of the island. The evacuation program did 
not provide for a condition like this, so the Spaniard went 
back to his own country — though only for a time, per- 
haps — and his wife and children must weep and go hungry 
until his return. 

As if in answer to the shrill blasts of Spanish bugles, 
came the deeper notes of our own, echoing back from 
without the city limits, and soon the steady, sturdy tramp 
of our own stalwart men resounded between the low walls 
of the city streets. We were going to cheer our country's 

4 




SAN JUAN HARBOR — VESSELS DECORATED I\ HONOR OF THE DAY 




SPANISH SOLDIERS IN SAN CRISTOBAL BARRACKS 



THE EVACUATION 

flag and glory in our new possessions ; they — well, no one 
knows what the Spanish soldiers felt ; a mixture, perhaps, 
of pleasure in going back to their hillside vineyards, of 
heartache at leaving their loved ones, and of well-masked 
hatred for those who had broken Spain's arrogant power. 

As the hour of twelve drew near, American soldiers 
stood before the white front of the balconied home of 
past Spanish Governor-Generals, and in the Plaza before 
the Chamber of Deputies and the City Hall, and again 
at the gates of the castles of Morro and San Cristobal, 
patiently awaiting the coming of the hour. Around them, 
at all these places, were gathered queer, interesting, and 
withal motley crowds of American tourists and newspaper- 
men, of well-dressed Spanish and Puerto Rican merchants 
and landholders, and of the dark-colored, ragged, and 
tattered natives. Little talk was indulged in, and enthu- 
siasm, if there was any, was withheld from active expres- 
sion. The minutes were passed in hushed waiting, a 
straining of eyes toward the bare flag-poles, and a nervous 
consultation of watches. 

Now it was coming, and a long-drawn breath sighed 
through the packed crowds, followed by the first uneasy 
shuffling of feet. The cry of "Attention ! " caused every 
soldier to straighten rigidly on his heels, except a few 
poor fellows who had dropped, weak and sweltering, 
under the fierce heat of the sun, and lay uncaring be- 
neath the shaded walls. The newsmen craned their necks 
in eager expectancy, and the click of adjusted camera 
shutters could be heard from every point of elevation. 

At each flagstaff a shoulder-strapped man stood grasp- 
ing the flag-halyards, trying them now and again in fear 
lest they might fail at the critical moment, and, from 
their high-perched positions, they watched the clock- 
towers or looked seaward toward the bold, rugged, forti- 

5 



PUERTO RICO 

fied castles for the first flash of fire and smoke from the 
great black guns. 

Ding! and the little, sweet-toned bell of a near-by 
cathedral sang the first stroke of twelve; it was over- 
powered in its first vibrations by the deep-bellowing clang 
of the great bell on the City Hall. They answered each 
other in rhythmic chime, the ponderous and the weak, 
one after another, until the last echoing thrill of twelve 
made Puerto Rico ours. 

The stars and stripes rose gently over every building, 
and were wafted by a new-born breeze, as if in sympathy 
with the rousing cheers of the surging Americans beneath, 
and as if in salutation to the roaring guns which belched 
their smoke far to seaward, as they boomed out the 
twenty-one shots of honor and of freedom. 

It was a deeply impressive ceremony — done without 
ostentatious display, done without gold-laced uniforms or 
martial panoply, but well done. The very simplicity of 
the celebration appeals to American hearts. Our attitude 
was not that of the dictator, but of the protector. No 
bombastic speeches wounded the still sensitive Spanish 
pride, no great military pomp caused the teeth of a van- 
quished enemy to grind in hidden rage; we raised our 
flag softly, proudly, if you like, but we raised it with an 
outstretched hand of friendship. 

With the floating of our flag over Spain's provincial 
capital of San Juan, the United States became, not only 
the master of a veritable Garden of Eden, but the pos- 
sessor of a vast amount of government property. In the 
cities of the whole island permanent structures have been 
erected, in the nature of buildings for officials, barracks 
for soldiers, many hospitals, and, on the seacoast, mass- 
ive stone forts. In San Juan, itself, our prizes include 
two wonderful stone forts, whose grey, moss-covered walls 

6 




RAISING THE FLAG OVER SAN JUAN, OCTOBER l8, li 



IHE EVACUATION 

tell a story of antiquated defenses, which would, how- 
ever, even now offer a very material protection against 
modern projectiles. On them were mounted fifty-six 
guns, new and old, twenty-eight of which are fairly 
modern, six-inch, breech-loading, rifled guns, and four 
modern mortars. In the magazines were stored immense 
quantities of powder and ammunition ; in fact, shortly be- 
fore war was declared, an entire shipload of the most 
approved projectiles was landed at San Juan, and now 
belongs to our government. Again, in this city, we 
now own a five-storied infantry barracks, which has been 
constructed during the last five years and will hold loo,- 
cxx) men. It was damaged badly, but not beyond repair, 
during the three hours' naval bombardment of the city, 
when it was believed that Cervera's fleet lay in hiding in 
the harbor. There are two other immense barracks, but 
they are of old Spanish architecture — the quartel San 
Cristobal and the Marine barracks. The United States 
also owns a new city hall and a great public building, 
the " Intendencia," both facing the plaza of the city. 
The value of our entire acquisitions ruris up into millions 
of money, which have been expended by Spain in furnish- 
ing homes for her soldiers and her officials, and in the vain 
attempt to protect and hold her colonial possessions, even 
though, in years gone by, she has valiantly and success- 
fully repelled all assailants. 

The American officers who had the honor of raising 
the flags at San Juan were Major J. T. Dean at the 
Governor's palace; Colonel Goethals, of the Engineer 
Corps, over the " Intendencia"; Major Carson, of the 
Quartermaster's Department, at the City Hall ; and Major 
Day, in command of a battery of the Fifth Artillery, over 
Morro castle. Major Day also raised the first American 
flag floated at Ponce. 

7 



PUERTO RICO 

Few troops took active part in the ceremony : two bat- 
talions of the Eleventh Infantry at different points ; troop 
A of the Sixth Cavalry at the palace, and the Fifth Heavy 
Artillery at Morro and San Cristobal. All the afternoon, 
however, the soldiers were marching from camps without 
the city's limits, until at nightfall several thousand men 
were scattered through the town. On Monday night at 
every street corner stood the Spanish Guardia Civil, the 
official tyrant of the island, while sentries of the Spanish 
army were posted near all government buildings;' when 
Tuesday's sunset came, our armed soldiers paced back and 
forth over the selfsame posts, while the Spanish soldiers — 
without guns, though armed with bayonets — wandered 
through the town as aliens, or gathered in clusters, in 
animated discussion. It was a curious metamorphosis. 

Almost at the moment that the brilliant planet Venus 
shone faintly in the waning light of evening, a great gun 
on Morro castle, manned by men in blue, belched forth 
a farewell salute to day. The long white curls of smoke 
were wafted eastward slowly out to sea, and, as its billows 
ascended high in the air, the sinking sun tinted their top-' 
most crest with rosy light, an omen, it was said, that the 
black cloud of Spanish cruelty had passed away, and in 
its stead had dawned the pearl- and rose-colored promise 
of future happiness for Puerto Rico. 



CHAPTER II 

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS 
Physical Features 

THE first impressions one receives of the island of 
Puerto Rico from the water, as the steamer churns 
through a placid sea as blue as the beautiful Mediterra- 
nean, are rather disappointing. These impressions depend 
largely upon how novel to the traveler are the expanses 
of limpid azure, with the distant highlands gradually 
rising from the flat earth near the sea to rough foothills, 
and then to sharp-pointed, irregular peaks, piled high 
behind each other, all clothed in the same unvarying, 
intense green, the entire landscape being wonderfully 
crowned with low-hanging, vaporous clouds, which roll 
forever into new, fantastic, nebulous forms. 

If one has not seen the giant mountain-ranges of the 
southeastern coast of Cuba, Hfted seven thousand feet in 
air, or those of the heart of the Antillean chain in Santo 
Domingo, which rise twelve thousand feet, in pinnacled 
peaks of verdure, from bases bound in coral and washed 
by the waves of a summer sea, then one will be tempted 
to exclaim, " What a paradise! " Comparison, the in- 
vidious mental enemy, alone can detract from the loveli- 
ness of this " Isle of the Gate of Gold." 

Puerto Rican mountain-ranges rise massively only two 
thousand feet above the level of the sea, with here and 



PUERTO RICO 

there a peak gaining gradual elevation to three thousand, 
or, in the case of El Yunque in the northeast, thirty-seven 
hundred feet, but there are no great heights which hold 
the eye entranced. Neither do they make an effective 
showing from the sea, as the most marked elevations are 
far inland ; in fact the mountainous backbone traverses 
almost the center of the island, beginning at a point near 
San German in the southwest corner, and crossing diago- 
nally to El Yunque, the highest land near the northeast. 

In circumnavigating the island, the western end has few 
suggestions of scenic beauty. The isle of Desecheo, like 
a partially-submerged cone, — the home of sea-birds only, 
— guards the northwest corner like a lonely sentinel. 
Looking toward Aguadilla, on the mainland, the country 
is slightly rolling, backed by a single low range of carved, 
ancient-coral formation in the middle ground, while in 
the misty distance there are suggestions of greater moun- 
tains. Mayaguez, the great western shipping port, is 
almost invisible from the sea, lying low down on the shore- 
line, and fronting an open harbor which is a dangerous 
one in heavy southwesterly or westerly weather. Still 
farther to the south, one looks into apparently better- 
protected, landlocked harbors, while the distant view 
carries the eye from the near-by, rolling foothills along 
the axes of heavy ranges. 

The western end of the southern coast is monotonous 
in the extreme, and nothing breaks the weariness of the 
view except the dashing of waves on coral reefs, whose 
tireless builders have thrust their castellated homes up- 
ward through the foam and spray. The ancient and 
almost-deserted port of Guanica, foreshortened from the 
water into a mere dent in the coast-line, develops into as 
fine and beautiful a harbor as any on the island — except- 
ing, perhaps, the sea-sheltered havens near Fajardo on the 

lO 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS 

east. It is surprising that cities should have sprung up 
near almost useless ports, while at this point — offering as 
it does a fine deep-water harbor, too narrow for much ma- 
neuvering at its mouth — a town once recognized as a point 
of ocean trade has not only failed to expand commercially, 
but has lost its old-time prestige. Its deterioration could 
probably be traced to political discrimination in San Juan. 

Ponce, to the west of the center of the southern coast- 
line and two miles from the ocean, can just be seen with 
a field-glass, cradled in palms and green trees among the 
first of the rolling foothills, while the Playa, its port- 
town, stands, with flat roofs and whitened walls, on the 
disintegrated coral of the shore. The harbor is very open 
and shallow, though protected somewhat on the east by 
a spur of land, and slightly on the west by a little island 
reef, made a gem of beauty by the simple architecture of 
its white lighthouse. 

From Ponce westward the landscape from the sea grows 
more pleasing, and one realizes the beauty of the moun- 
tain-ranges, each rising higher behind the other, the effect 
enhanced by the great spur from the main series which 
breaks away and follows the seacoast not many miles 
inland. At Jobos, on this portion of the shore-line, oc- 
curs another fine harbor with ample sea-room, which is 
used only by a few coasting vessels ; the thriving city of 
Guayama, but five miles away to the westward, uses — 
curiously enough — the open roadstead of Arroyo, four 
miles on the other side, for shipping purposes, in prefer- 
ence to the fine, landlocked body of water at Jobos. 

From the island of Vieques, on the southeast corner, to 
San Juan, on the northern coast, the landscape is broken 
by islets and islands, and the mainland shows jutting, 
rocky promontories, producing kaleidoscopic vistas of 
which one never tires. 

II 



PUERTO RICO 

The islands of Vieques and Culebra, which He ofi the 
east coast and belong to Puerto Rico, are low in contour, 
with little running water, though they are fertile in the' 
extreme, and the waving cane-fields of Vieques, which 
stretch over hill and dale, are far more lovely, in their 
undulating, silken tassels, than those of the mainland, 
covering flat, unrelieved plains. 

The thousand small islands which form the Lesser An- 
tilles and curve off in a great arc to the southward from 
Puerto Rico, together with the innumerable coral islets 
shooting out from the northeast corner of the island, 
constitute a sea-screen which protects all the harbors of 
the eastern side; and it is quite probable that, under the 
impetus of American development, this side of the island — 
instead of being almost wholly deserted commercially — 
will become in time the most favored and sought after, 
for it undoubtedly offers natural advantages in a marked 
degree, in the shape of protected sea-room, with deep 
waters close inshore, such as are not possessed by the 
other three sides. It should be stated, however, that 
coral reefs and shoals abound, among which navigation 
is highly dangerous at present, owing to the lack of ac- 
curate charts ; but when the Coast Survey shall have care- 
fully mapped the submarine pathways, these difficulties 
will be overcome, for, between these submerged reefs, 
which act as sea-walls, are ample passageways of deep 
water. 

It is said that this is the less fertile end of the island, 
but the opinion has gained credence from the fact that 
hitherto this region has contributed less in commercial 
products, and hence has attracted less attention in busi- 
ness centers, rather than because the soil possesses any 
inherent sterility, for it is beyond question quite as rich 
and productive as any other section of the land, and — 

12 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS 

given population and land and sea transportation facili- 
ties — it should outstrip other regions tributary to the less- 
favored harbors on the open coasts. 

The northern side of the island has no good ports, with 
the exception of the embayed harbor of San Juan, and the 
landscape from afar is almost a dreary one. Arecibo is 
the only city — after the capital — which attracts the eye 
landward. Its cathedral seems to rise from a veritable 
city of thatched huts, though in reality these only hang 
upon the skirts of the main city, which is well built. 
Past its doors flows the second largest river on the island, 
Rio Grande de Arecibo. 

San Juan is a city of delight to the vision. Its massive, 
high-walled, grey-grown forts may be seen far out at sea, 
their battlements crowning every bold salient of the shore- 
line. Across its harbor entrance, in heavy northern 
weather, the white-crested billows pile high on each other 
in a frenzied race toward shore ; this, viewed as a pic- 
ture in nature, fills the heart with rapture, but, seen with 
the eye of the mariner, causes the face of the stoutest 
navigator to pale. 

The deep, fast-flowing rivers, which fall into the sea 
from this side, are all spoken of by previous writers as 
being navigable for several miles inland, but mention is 
made, at the same time, of sand-bars and spits which 
close them eflfectually to shipping. From a commercial 
standpoint they would be of little use, even if their 
mouths were opened by dredging, as they flow between 
banks quite too close for the handling of anything but 
small fishing smacks, and, during a receding tide, the out- 
speeding current whips the water's surface into eddying 
whirlpools, which would be dangerous even for moored 
vessels. 

On the whole it must be admitted that Puerto Rico, 

13 



PUERTO RICO 

from the water, is not an impressive sight; that it has 
few good harbors, and that the best of them appeal neither 
to the artistic nor technical eye ; but it should be remem-- 
bered that this little island has less than three hundred 
and fifty miles of coast-line, all told — ^or, roughly speak- 
ing, about as much as the coast of Massachusetts — and in 
this short distance it lays claim to fourteen harbors, 
though, in point of real commercial utility, it has not 
more than six. In an island which averages but ninety- 
five miles in length by thirty-five in breadth, half a dozen 
good ports will feel the strain of competition severely, 
when the time shall come that railroad transportation and 
good roads bind the agricultural country closely to the 
business centers. 

Once on shore, the traveler through the island realizes 
for the first time what a wealth of artistic loveliness and 
fertile possibilities lies in this land clothed with a livery of 
tropical vegetation. Almost every foot of ground is steep 
and rolling, except along the coast-lines and in a few nar- 
row valleys of the interior, where the earth lies seemingly 
as flat as a floor, from the banks of the wandering rivers 
to the very foot of the mountains, which rise abruptly to 
sharp, curved crests, a thousand feet above. 

Table-lands there are none; the mountain uplifts are 
flexed into razor-backed ridges, and time and weather 
have fought against the form-preserving vegetation with 
sufficient success to mold their sides into soft erosional 
shapes, steep-sided and high, but covered to their very 
tops with rich, fertile, and cultivatable soil. 

While there are no flat-topped mountain-ranges in the 
interior, the few narrow valleys, found mainly on the 
northern side east of the center, are elevated above 
the sea as much as a thousand feet, and no more delight- 
ful place of abode for white men can be imagined : per- 

14 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS 

feet landscapes, a soil in which almost everything under 
heaven will grow, cool nights, bearable days, and the 
whole of this idealistic conception set off with a filigree- 
work of heaving clouds, wonderful rainbows overhanging 
the green of stately palms, waving, broad-leaved banana 
plantations, food- and fruit-trees, and jungle forests whose 
odd shapes and queer foliage lend a never-tiring charm 
to the scene. It is a tropic Elysium, and will become 
the winter Mecca of America. 

Climate 

Ask the average man who formed an integral part of 
the Army of Invasion which went to Puerto Rico what 
he thinks of the climate, and his opinion will most likely 
be forcibly expressed by the word " damnable." His 
judgment is a biased one, however, for it should be re- 
membered that he bore all the hardships of a severe 
campaign. With a system weakened by life in fever- 
infected camps, and after a prolonged interval aboard 
cramped, foul-smelling transports, he was forced out, 
during the heat of summer, into torrid suns, chilling rains, 
and bottomless mud in tangled trails, subsisting, mean- 
time, on a diet unknown to him in his own comfortable 
home — a mixture of " government straight " and tropical 
fruits. It is little wonder that his plaintive song voiced 
itself in the words of " God's Countrie." The fact is 
patent, however, that the army of Puerto Rico returned, 
in spite of necessary exposure, with few men left behind 
in lonely graves, and with a small percentage of sickness 
in its ranks, as compared with the men who were forced 
into the death-trap of Santiago, while those who have 
remained on the island, quartered in barracks, show a 
less percentage of illness in their forces than they did 
before leaving the United States. 

15 



PUERTO RICO 

In spite of various and contrary opinions, the climate 
of Puerto Rico is not a difficult one for North Americans 
to hold their own in the year around, though it is most 
enjoyable in the middle of winter, when our own broad 
United States is clothed in ice and snow, chilled by sullen 
rains, or frozen by the biting winds of bitter blizzards. 

The island lies within the torrid zone, between latitudes 
17° 54' and 18° 30' N. On the mainland of North America 
at this latitude, the climate is quite unbearable to the un- 
acclimated during the entire year — unless it be perhaps in 
sections where the altitude is five thousand feet or over — 
but, owing to Puerto Rico's position far out on the ocean 
to the eastward (longitude west from Greenwich 65° 35'- 
6']'' 15'), away from the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, 
together with the comparatively small area, which permits 
it to be swept by the prevailing trade-winds from end to 
end, the climate is one in which those of temperate 
regions may safely live, provided some care be taken of 
the health for the first few months until physical adjust- 
ment has taken place, 

In the heat of summer, the temperature never rises 
above 95° Fahrenheit on the seacoast, and the nights 
are usually cool. Whatever unpleasantness pertains to 
the climate is the outcome of the excessive humidity of 
the atmosphere during the rainy season, and the clammy 
dampness of clear, dew-laden nights. Unquestionably 
the rainy season is a trial to the constitution, for the wet 
air, heated by sudden sunbursts, is difficult to breathe, 
and exposure to the chilly damp of night is apt to bring 
on pernicious and malarial fevers; however, with any- 
thing like proper care of the person and a fair diet of 
quinine, the summer season may be safely tided over. 

In winter — or rather during the " dry season " of No- 
vember, December, January, and February — the upper 

16 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS 

limit of the mercury is about 80° on the coast and ten 
degrees less in the mountains, dropping lowest in Janu- 
ary. There is a greater range in temperature between 
day and night at this season than in summer, the mercury 
sometimes falling, during darkness, to 65° on the coast 
and ten degrees lower in the highest altitudes. Sixty- 
five degrees means really cold weather to the Puertori- 
queflo, and the American who has lived on the island for 
a few months does not disdain to envelop his linen-clad 
person in a light overcoat. 

The difference between the temperature in open sun- 
light and dense shade is so marked that it is actually 
dangerous to seek shelter from the sun, when overheated, 
in the shade of tree or jungle. Pneumonia is commonly 
produced in this way, and many of the pulmonary com- 
plaints arising in the island may be traced to injudicious 
cooling off beneath umbrageous natural arbors. A bit of 
superstition exists in the minds of the untutored natives 
to the effect that certain large trees, which form bowers of 
shade, exhale poisonous, noxious vapors, and that those 
who unwittingly or foolishly rest beneath them die with 
frightful pains in the chest and back ; the true explanation 
being, of course, that acute congestion is superinduced. 

The rainfall of Puerto Rico is very copious, estimated 
in its annual quantity, but the amount at any specific 
point varies greatly from year to year and month to 
month ; also, some portions of the island are better watered 
by the dews of heaven than others. 

In April and May the spring rains begin to drop their 
moisture from the sky, and it is no uncommon thing for 
it to pour down in heavy torrents almost constantly for 
two or three weeks, this incessant rain usually occurring 
on the northern half of the island, well up in the moun- 
tains. During such periods the roads are impassable for 

2 

17 



PUERTO RICO 

saddle or pack animals, and it is almost impossible for 
human beings to travel on foot over the trails. 

During the interval from May to September, there is 
little rain — that is, comparatively little rain for a tropical 
country; it must be understood that in Puerto Rico a 
day never passes without rain falling somewhere in the 
mountain country, but, between the scheduled rainy 
seasons, it does not pour down for hours and days, but 
comes in quick, driving showers of a few minutes, usually 
late in the afternoon, and clears up with the dying sun, 
when one is almost paid for the discomforts of a drench- 
ing by the rare effects of a sky filled with glorious, crim- 
soned clouds and double rainbows. 

The alarming stories of months of constant precipitation 
and deluge have no foundation in fact. It is known that 
the average annual rainfall at Havana is but a few inches 
more than in New York ; though these statistics will not 
serve as a basis for judging the rainfall of the interior or 
mountainous regions, where the total annual precipitation 
is much greater. It is not probable that the yearly fall 
of rain, measured in inches, varies greatly in Puerto Rico 
from that in Cuba. Rains come more quickly and fall 
harder in a given time in the tropics than in more tem- 
perate climes, but there is the comforting compensation 
of their seldom lasting for more than a few minutes at a 
time. If these tropical countries had the same firm soils 
and as good roadways, complaints would never be ad- 
vanced against the watery weather. 

The northern half of the island — that is, the portion 
which lies to the northward of the great mountain water- 
shed — has never known a drought, though near the coast- 
line several weeks have occasionally passed without rain, 
during the dry season. The southern half, on the con- 
trary — particularly the southeastern section — has at times 

i8 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS 

been without a drop of moisture on its coast-skirting soil 
for over three months, and it is related by the inhabitants 
of Vieques that a score of years ago the population had 
to bring fresh drinking-water from the main island, so 
general and lasting was the dried-up condition of their 
own. 

During the summer interval, the weather is very stifling 
and oppressive on the coast, though in the high mountain 
regions it is quite pleasant. The morning hours are 
usually without a breath of air, and the heat is relieved 
only when the sea-breezes set in, about twelve o'clock, 
growing constantly stronger until five or six o'clock in 
the afternoon. Another period of breathless quiet occurs 
from this time until eight or nine in the evening, when the 
cool, dew-laden land-breezes flowing down the mountain- 
sides make it necessary to close the doors against the chill- 
ing dampness. The motionless hours of dusk are the 
most trying portion of the day, for small, blood-letting 
mosquitoes fill the air with humming wings, and it is 
utterly impossible to protect oneself from their poisonous 
lances. 

The early historians record frightful devastation by 
hurricanes in the months of July and August; during the 
years 1825 and 1837, the general destruction of property 
and crops was so great that one writer was inclined to be- 
lieve that these dire visitations would always be a great 
" deduction " from the value of West Indian property. 
It is true that during the hot weather of July and August 
cyclonic winds arise, accompanied by thunder and light- 
ning, but it has been many years since a storm of any far- 
reaching violence has visited Puerto Rico. From personal 
inquiry among many men on the island, in respect to the 
frequency and strength of these hurricanes, it may be 
safely stated that their winds are usually puny affairs, as 

19 



PUERTO RICO 

compared to our own cyclones of the broad prairies, and, 
as a generation may elapse between those of the roaring, 
death-dealing type, much sensationalism need hardly be 
developed. 

In September and a portion of October, the autumnal 
deluges begin, and after some of the terrific cloudbursts, 
the whole face of the earth is actually covered with a 
quickly-disappearing lake — the tiny streams become rag- 
ing torrents and the rivers vast floods which overflow the 
bottom-lands for miles on either side. 

In October, the prevailing north and northeast winds 
release the population from the thraldom of heat and 
rain. From this time on until the spring rains supervene, 
Puerto Rico possesses a lovely climate. 

The dryness of the southern side of the island may here 
be accounted for by pointing out that the persistent winds 
from the north have their moisture stolen from them on 
the northern side of the high mountains, which act as a 
screen to prevent the rain from being carried to the south. 
A double range of mountains in the western half of the 
island still more effectually prevents the equal distribu- 
tion of rainfall ; hence the greater dryness of the section 
toward the southeast. 

Much of the salubriousness of the Puerto Rican climate, 
as compared with Cuba and the other neighboring islands, 
arises from the fact that the island has a remarkable num- 
ber of fast-flowing rivers. Its exceptional fertility is due, 
in a measure, to the same cause. It is estimated that 
there are fifty-one large rivers and over twelve hundred 
small streams, creeks, and rivulets which find their way 
through the interlacing mountains, down deep gorges, 
and across fertile bottom-lands to the encircling ocean. 
One is simply amazed by the number of small, rapid 
streams which seem to gush out of the very mountain 

20 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS 

crests. There is hardly an area of a square mile which 
might not, if necessary, be irrigated, with small expense, 
from mountain streams. In the western half of the 
island, amid the mountain fastnesses, one sees, from 
dizzy mountain trails, exquisite, sunlit falls, dropping in 
silver threads for two hundred feet over steep rock-preci- 
pices, hidden at places in their descent by giant ferns and 
clusters of flowering plants. From the depths of the 
huge ravines rises the sound of tumbling waters, but the 
rivers are hidden from sight by the mass of tropical 
growth. By toiling down the steep-sided hills, clinging 
to the thick-growing coffee-bushes, step by step, one is at 
last rewarded by a vision of curling falls and boiling 
waters, embowered in arches of unfamiliar trees and pend- 
ent vines, which fills the soul of a lover of nature with 
thrills of joy. These streams give to the rural inhabitants 
an abundance of fresh, potable water, so essential to the 
maintenance of good health ; from them, also, might be 
derived much power for running machinery; for, while 
they do at times become raging torrents, they never fall 
below a certain normal level. Again, much of the won- 
derful fertility of the lowlands is directly attributable to 
overflowing freshets, which, several times a year, deposit 
a mountain-gathered load of rich silt. This one factor, 
alone, of innumerable streams which vivify the air and 
land alike, makes Puerto Rico a place of habitation prefer- 
able to any of the other islands of the West Indies. 



CHAPTER III 

PREVALENT DISEASES IN THE ISLAND, AND HYGIENIC 
PRECAUTIONS 

IT is customary to suggest hygienic rules and regulations 
by which the traveler in the tropics should be gov- 
erned, but in practice he seldom lives up to the strict 
limitations of these formulae; the army in Cuba and 
Puerto Rico — even where it was possible — never did, 
and, further, it is feared it never will. 

The most common physical ailments which overtake 
the unacclimated, as well as the native population, are — 
first, dysentery, sometimes of so persistent a type as to 
cause death ; second, malarial and pernicious fevers, 
which take intermittent or malignant forms ; and third, 
colds, catarrhs, pneumonia, and consumption. 

Dysenteries, mucous-membrane affections, and lung 
troubles may usually be, in large measure, prevented by 
simple methods of taking care of the person. Never eat 
fresh fruits with which you are unfamiliar, is one rule, if 
dysentery is to be averted; this rule is broken by nine 
out of every ten persons who are of an inquiring turn of 
mind, the rare and delicious fruits being a sore tempta- 
tion to the appetite. Mangoes, bananas, and nisperos, 
while fine-flavored and tempting, produce great distress 
in the average stomach by fermentation. Lemons (sweet 
and sour), limes, and oranges are considered safe, though 
the natives will never eat an orange after meals, nor for 

22 



DISEASES AND PRECAUTIONS 

an hour after using alcoholic beverages of any kind. The 
too constant or frequent use of lemon or lime juice is not 
beneficial to some systems, as it brings on a chronic acid- 
ity of the stomach. Dysenteries which arise from ma- 
larial or bacterial poisoning of the intestinal tract may be 
alleviated by strict dieting, but not prevented. Such 
diseases can be overcome by medical aid only. 

Malarial affections are universal, and those who make 
their homes in tropical countries are never immune, for 
long periods, against the visitations of this stealthy foe. 

The germs of malaria are no doubt oftenest carried into 
the system by drinking-water, though the exact method 
or means of transmission is a much-mooted question with 
the medical fraternity. Residence near swamps, morasses, 
or cesspools, and in streets where sanitation is poor, 
where decaying garbage is carelessly thrown and efifluvial 
emanations are constantly rising, produces malarial affec- 
tions, even where boiled or distilled water is used for 
drinking purposes. Prevention, to a large extent, lies in 
using boiled drinking-water, in never living near marshy 
ground, in sleeping elevated above the earth (second- 
story rooms being preferable), and in keeping away from 
contact with the great unwashed and their homes. 

After the system has started a malarial culture, expos- 
ure to draughts, chilling of the body, eating of fermented 
or fermentable foods, excessive exercise, overheating, or, 
in fact, any act which may suddenly disarrange the func- 
tional system, will, in a few hours, manifest itself in an 
attack of malarial fever, which will be more or less severe, 
depending upon the type and the strength of the culture 
preying upon the body. 

Cognizance should be immediately taken of the slightest 
fever; and faith may be placed in the ability of the aver- 
age native doctor, for if there is one thing he well under- 

23 



PUERTO RICO 

stands it is the treatment of fever troubles. It is not wise 
to suggest personal medical treatment to the reader, 
though the writer has found, in practice, that a diet of 
one grain of red pepper and two of quinine, in capsules, 
taken at his limit of twelve grains a day, will hold a sys- 
tem filled with malaria at the normal. Quinine is the 
only known antidote which will finally kill and eradicate 
the malarial germs from the system, and its use becomes 
almost habitual to the dweller in tropical countries. 

It is believed that no one is proof against malarial 
poisoning, and sooner or later — excessive care delaying, 
not preventing — the man of temperate climes will be 
overcome with fever. 

The " tropic liver," or chronic enlargement of this 
organ, is an outcome of many attacks of fever, and is 
not only distressing, but a constant source of menace in 
after-life, for its possession means a chronic unbalancing 
of the abdominal functions. It can best be relieved by 
a lengthy sojourn in more northern regions. 

The worst foe of equatorial countries is undoubtedly 
malaria, and its after-effects show themselves in a gener- 
ally broken-down condition of the constitution. Anaemia 
is the direct result of a severe attack of malaria, for the 
red corpuscles of the blood are destroyed by the malarial 
Plasmodia. Once in the clutches of this arch-enemy to 
health, the best remedy, again, is to leave the country 
temporarily ; the next is carefully to diet the system and 
restore the blood by known medical remedies and nutri- 
tious food. 

It makes the heart heavy to see the hundreds — nay, 
thousands — of native poor struggling through their daily 
avocations, with transparent flesh and white, bleached 
faces — victims of malarial diseases, which might be eased 
by better diet than plantains and sweet potatoes, and 

24 



DISEASES AND PRECAUTIONS 

cured if quinine and other medicines were not, through 
excessive tariff, placed beyond the reach of their slender 
pocketbooks. 

Colds and allied diseases are so easily induced in a hot 
climate, which keeps the pores of the skin constantly 
open, that few people escape being afflicted for many 
weeks at a time by some form of these distressing attacks ; 
and once having contracted cold in the head, sore throat, 
or inflamed lungs, it is difficult to assuage the trouble. 
The hot, moist air in sunshine changing to a subtle chil- 
liness under a heavy shower, or to positive dankness 
during the clear nights, constantly adds to the inflam- 
mation of the membranes, unless the utmost caution is 
exercised. A susceptible person or a victim to colds 
must take prompt measures to alleviate the simple trouble, 
or it may be followed by pneumonia, or by the far worse 
and more invidious disease, consumption. Woolen ab- 
dominal bandages are advocated as a means of reducing 
the danger of rapid changes in the surface temperature 
of the body, and are undoubtedly worthy of considera- 
tion. The writer, however, prefers to dress with a fair 
degree of warmth, generally wearing thin cotton under- 
clothes, protected by light woolen overclothes. While 
in this way one may become overheated, the cooling-off 
process is not nearly so dangerous, with a complete cover- 
ing of non-conducting woolen materials, as it is with the 
thin cotton and linen clothes affected by the native popu- 
lation. It is a good plan always to put on heavier clothes 
at night. If you feel the slightest chilliness, exercise, or 
put on a light overcoat. By following these suggestions, 
the grave afflictions of local congestion may be largely 
prevented. 

Yellow fever need hardly be dreaded in Puerto Rico. 
It has never taken the form of an epidemic, and but few 

25 



PUERTO RICO 

cases are reported from year to year. It has made itself 
more apparent, perhaps, in the barracks of the Spanish 
soldiers and in the prisons than elsewhere. It has been 
confined mainly to the coast towns, and is not heard of 
in the interior towns of high altitude. It is well to re- 
member, however, that yellow fever is a disease of night, 
and that, by taking the precaution of not going out until 
after the sun is well up in the morning, and being in the 
house when the shades of evening fall, and living in 
upper-story rooms if possible, one runs little risk of being 
smitten by this dread disease. Yet no rule holds good 
during an epidemic, and avoidance of the fever-infected 
districts is the only safe recourse. Always keep away 
from sections of a coast town in the tropics where the 
poor, degraded, and vicious live ; keep the person clean, 
change the clothing often, and live among cleanly sur- 
roundings. 

On the whole, Puerto Rico has the most salubrious 
climate and engenders the smallest number of physical ail- 
ments among the unacclimated of all the regions of the 
western hemisphere within the torrid zone. In any 
country where vegetation grows rank and luxuriant, 
where the suns are hot and the rainfalls frequent, disease 
is necessarily more prevalent, but Puerto Rico has been 
remarkably free from the scourges which afflict the people 
of adjacent isles; moreover, it should be remembered, in 
summing up the situation, that this fair condition exists 
on an island where the population is, and has been for 
centuries, more dense than that of almost any other 
purely agricultural section of the New World. 



CHAPTER IV 

GEOLOGY 

THE great Antillean mountain-range embraces Cuba, 
Haiti, Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and 
the smaller islands to the eastward, and includes a great 
submerged' mountain-chain connecting the islands and 
extending westward toward the isthmian region of North 
America. It is, in general characteristics, the most won- 
derful on the earth. It rises at Brownson Deep, a little 
north of the shore of Puerto Rico, almost vertically from 
the depths of ocean, 27,000 feet to sea-level, its highest 
elevation above the surface of the water being 11,300 feet 
in Mount Tina of Santo Domingo. In other words, the 
West Indian islands are only the protruding tips of 
the mightiest and most precipitous mountain-range in the 
world. If it could be pushed up above the surface of the 
water, it would reach heavenward nearly ten thousand 
feet higher than Mount Everest in the Himalayas. 

The immense depths of water on either side of this 
wonderful range are the greatest known in the Atlantic. 
The islands which rear their crests above the surface rise 
abruptly from the sea, with only scanty flood-plains on 
their margins, formed chiefly of terraces of coral rock of 
late geologic time. 

The history of the geologic oscillations of this region is 
best told by Robert T. Hill, an eminent geologist of the 
United States Geological Survey, who has devoted many 
years to the unraveling of earth-problems relating to the 
West Indies. The submergence of the original land-area 

2^ 



PUERTO RICO 

— thought by some writers to be the lost Atlantis — took 
place in early geologic time, and while the waves of ocean 
rolled for ages over this sunken land, it was heavily laden 
with a calcareous deposit of shells and sea animals. 
Again, in the upheavings of the earth, it was reared high 
above the pounding surf — much higher than it is today — 
so that the solid land possibly extended from the present 
limits of southeastern United States to the mainland of 
South America, though there is much difference of opin- 
ion among geologists regarding this phase. Scientists 
who favor this idea have called the large area of land then 
exposed and connecting the two continents, the Wind- 
ward Bridge. The Isthmus of Panama may have had no 
existence at that time, and the broad Pacific possibly 
surged freely against the steep shores of the eastward land. 

Then came a second period of subsidence, until the 
largest islands were but tiny pinnacles above the deep ; 
following this was another long period of calcareous dep- 
osition, and the ultimate uplifting of the islands known 
to us today. 

During the first great uplift the wonderfully-folded 
mountain-ranges, encased in massive fossiliferous lime- 
stones, were formed, and, from the crumpled crests of the 
giant peaks, craters poured forth tuff and liquid lava, and 
the great subterranean caldrons filled every crack and 
fissure with melted igneous material. 

The secondary sinking encrusted the entire surface with 
another layer of heavy limestones, thought to be some- 
what softer, and filled with much later fossils. 

At a late period of the last uplifting, the coral polyps 
made their appearance, and, skirting every shore-line, 
zealously built their rocky homes, even reaching out and 
throwing up their stony fortresses on the tops of sunken 
ridges. The elevation, still continuing, has created a 

28 



GEOLOGY 

series of coral terraces which gird the major portion of all 
West Indian islands, and reach for a considerable distance 
inland. 

This is at best but a crude and rough outline of the 
wonderful past history of the Antillean range. 

Puerto Rico has no known extinct craters, and it is 
unlikely that it was ever the seat of active volcanic dis- 
turbance. 

The geology of the island is practically unknown, for it 
has almost always been neglected by students of nature 
and scientific men, whose attention has been given, with 
considerable care, to the geologic features of the other 
and larger islands of the group. There is little reason to 
believe that it materially differs, either in stratigraphy or 
mineral constituents, from those known in Cuba, Haiti, 
Santo Domingo, and Jamaica, as Puerto Rico is merely 
an extension of the same mountain-range which — with 
lowering elevation — extends eastward, and finally sinks 
into the blue ocean beyond the island of St. Thomas. 

Massive limestones, deeply carved by rivulets and 
rivers, cover the mountains to their very tops. At a few 
points are seen the older basic rocks from which primeval 
land was derived. Near Lares, running east and west, 
is a beautiful castellated ridge, some thirty miles in 
length, of this older conglomerate and metamorphic rock, 
capped, apparently, by remnants of the harder lime- 
stones ; but beyond these there are few indications of the 
original superstructure upon which the later island 
deposits were laid down. 

The limestones vary greatly in quality and somewhat 
in color, changing from soft white, with almost straight 
fractures, to a cold grey and blue-steel coloring, with a 
hard, fine-grained texture and a highly conchoidal fracture. 
All varieties seem to make fine building-stone, produce 

29 



PUERTO RICO 

macadam roads cemented almost as hard as the original 
rock itself, and burn in kilns to lime of great beauty and 
strength. 

The mineral possibilities of the island are yet unsolved 
problems, but the known factors do not hold forth great 
promise to the speculator or investor. Viewed in the 
light of scanty discoveries made on the other islands, 
where the earth-disturbances took place on a more gigan- 
tic scale, and where — if at any point in this great range — 
valuable minerals should have formed in nature's crucible, 
the possible resources in rare minerals are not promising. 

Iron ore of good quality has been found at several 
places on the island. It may be that asphaltum will be 
discovered in paying quantities. Coal is said to occur in 
the western ranges, but closer scrutiny will very likely 
prove it to be lignite. A mineral fuel — it may be said in- 
cidentally — located in this region would be a great in- 
dustrial blessing, for the scanty supply of wood at the 
prevailing high price will make it necessary to import coal 
in great quantities, if the present industries are to make 
much expansion in the future. 

Gold has been found in many of the mountain streams, 
notably in the Loquillo mountains in the northeast, under 
the towering peak of El Yunque. In the seventies a 
French company secured privileges from the Spanish gov- 
ernment to wash gold from the streams near Rio Grande, 
but the work was soon abandoned — it is said, because of 
failure to find placer gold in paying quantities. No 
mother-lode has so far been located in this range, which 
may yet disclose wealth under the searching eyes of pros- 
pectors. This year a number of parties have been scour- 
ing the upper heights of El Yunque, and rumors of finds 
are in the air. In the tributaries to the Rio Cibua, near 
Corozal, some fifteen miles southward of San Juan, gold 

30 



GEOLOGY 

has been washed from the streams by the natives, and 
the San Juan merchants often purchase very small 
amounts of gold-dust in exchange for store goods. The 
method pursued by the natives in securing this gold, it 
is related, is primitive in the extreme, consisting of 
diving into the water, bringing the sand from the bottom 
in their clinched hands, and panning it out afterward 
on the banks of the stream. 

Numbers of other minerals are named — none of them, 
so far as known, appearing in paying quantities. Cop- 
per, lead, garnet, and others of lesser importance are 
enumerated. Fine quartz crystals and agates have been 
picked up in many stream-beds, and small blocks of mica 
are said to occur in the streams of the southern water- 
shed of El Yunque. 

A geologic survey of the island would, in a year, settle 
most of the mooted questions as to the mineral resources 
of Puerto Rico, and would most likely save much useless 
expenditure of capital by individual seekers after wealth. 
The Spanish laws, which reserved all rights in mineral 
lands for the government, deterred individual investors; 
but the government, like the dog in the manger, has 
never taken advantage of the power vested in it to make 
either mineral or general geologic surveys. 

While every possible avenue to wealth in Puerto Rico 
will be exploited within the next few years by Americans 
with money and without money, as a generalization based 
upon the evidence of small mineral finds in the past, and 
the known geologic formations, which promise little for 
mineral resources in the future, it may be suggested that 
there are many far more promising roads to fortune in in- 
dustrial and agricultural pursuits than in the quest of a new 
El Dorado — that phantom which has lured the Spanish 
race, in centuries past, to its ultimate destruction. 

31 



CHAPTER V 

THE MILITARY ROAD 

THE finest road in the western hemisphere is to be 
found in the island of Puerto Rico ; in fact it is a 
road equaling, for surface and as a feat of engineering 
skill, any in the world, with the exception of some of the 
marvelous roadways across the Swiss Alps. 

It was built by the Spanish government at an approxi- 
mate cost of four million dollars, for military purposes 
solely, and traverses the island from side to side diago- 
nally across its very heart for one hundred and thirty- 
three kilometers (over eighty miles). 

This magnificent highway was commenced in 1880, 
under General Sanz's military regime in Puerto Rico, 
and completed eight years afterwards by General Pulido 
Gomez. Thousands of workmen called " peons " toiled 
year after year with a daily wage of fifty centavos, together 
with gangs of civil and military prisoners who received 
ten centavos a day, under the direction of Spanish engi- 
neers, only kept from open mutiny by a strong guard of 
soldiers. While the construction of the thoroughfare 
contemplated no philanthropic purpose and was perhaps, 
financially, an expensive gift to the inhabitants, it will, in 
the future, be of incalculable commercial value, for it 
gives to the country the only road within the confines of 
the island which is really passable at all seasons of the 
year — except short stretches of a proposed road to encircle 
the island. 

32 



THE MILITARY ROAD 

It is macadamized from end to end with finely-broken 
calcareous rock, which cements itself into an almost solid 
floor. It has good bridges over the numerous fast-flowing 
streams, with the exception of four small rivers just north 
of Ponce, and the gradients are as low as it is possible to 
make them without extreme tortuousness of the highway. 
Every few kilometers are found substantial single-storied 
houses, with red roofs, called " camineros," in which the 
road-tenders lived, whose duty it was to keep the road up 
to the high standard originally set by its promoters. 

There are other roads in Puerto Rico, all built for the 
needs of expeditious military maneuvers, but, for the 
greater portion of each year, they are vast rivers of mud 
and water. These dirt roads with no resisting surface 
almost encircle the island near the seacoast, and some 
few of them are branches of the main artery ; but, what- 
ever they may have been when originally built, they are 
now cut in deep ravines by the rushing waters, which find 
an easy channel through them, and are pitted with great 
mud-holes wheel-deep in places. It may be said, as a 
generalization, that no road can long be passable in this 
new possession of ours, unless it be rock-surfaced and 
drained with ample side ditches. 

It is impossible to describe the beauties of scenery, the 
unsurpassed variety of emerald vegetation, and the charm 
of wonderful sunsets and more remarkable sunrises along 
this highway, without relating the personal experiences 
of a staging trip across the island from Ponce, the great 
commercial center, to San Juan, the capital — and, in the 
past, the political hotbed of Spanish diplomacy and in- 
trigue — whither we were bound to witness the evacuation 
ceremonies. Owing to the difficulty of procuring horses, 
it was eleven o'clock at night when we began our wild 
ride from Playa. 

33 



PUERTO RICO 

Away we went at a dead run, the poor little rats of 
horses struggling in front of the heavy barouche, under 
the repeated lashings of the drivers. For the two miles 
leading into Ponce the road is lined with small suburban 
homes, and the old heavy-masonried buildings, with now 
and then a more modern white-balconied house nestled 
under the waving cocoanut-palms, made a very pleasing 
picture. Through the now silent city of Ponce we 
rushed, the drivers singing out a shrill cry of warning to a 
solitary sentry in blue, and then we swept out on the 
main road on our way to the mountains. 

Just beyond the town we plunged into the rough and 
stony bed of the Rio Portugues, and shook and bumped 
across the bottom to the music of rushing water, hub- 
high. On our return trip we were held up by this stream, 
whose waters rose, during a torrential rain, some five feet 
above their normal level in less than half an hour, and 
would perhaps have run down as quickly had the rain not 
continued. 

Four times in an hour were we yanked across these 
rough rivers, the startling sensation being heightened by 
the darkness. 

At Juana Diaz we changed coaches, horses, and drivers. 
From here to Coamo, a distance of ten miles, the road 
becomes gradually steeper, with now and then a short 
drop, as it runs over the rolling foothills which become 
higher and bolder as the principal transverse mountain- 
range of the island is neared. 

For the first forty miles this magnificent road, which is 
as smooth as a floor, follows a general direction toward 
the east-northeast, and then at Cayey, which lies in the 
foothills, it bends almost north, making for Caguas, and 
then for six miles to Aguas Buenas it turns west, and 
finally north for the rest of the distance to the city of San 

34 



THE MILITARY ROAD 

Juan. The intervening mountain-range is exceedingly 
steep and precipitous, and offers very few passes over 
which roads can be successfully constructed. The pass 
through which the military road threads its way before 
reaching Aybonito is the best one, but even here some 
wonderful feats of engineering were necessary to sur- 
mount this massive barrier to traffic. 

Just at the faint dawn of day we pulled into Coamo, 
and pushed ahead for Aybonito. Only impressions of 
what we had passed through in the dark clung to us. 
Here was a great banana plantation whose giant leaves 
glinted in the starlight, as the softly-passing air waved 
them slowly to and fro ; there stood the skeleton ruins of 
a fine villa, destroyed by the retreating Spanish soldiers. 
The windings of the road which carried us around starlit 
valleys and through the densely-verdured forests of the 
coffee plantations were very beautiful, but the panoramas 
which flashed upon us from bend after bend, in the morn- 
ing light, were gorgeous beyond description. 

A thousand feet below us the thousand little valleys 
cut by the mountain streams and walled by steep ridges, 
covered to their very crests with the green of growing 
things, lay partially veiled in darkness or lightly masked 
by the white, diaphanous clouds of vapor which seemed 
gently to caress each blade of green, as they slowly floated 
upward toward the now sunlit and tinted peaks above. 
It was a wondrous sight, such as could be found nowhere 
in our own country. Here was not the topography of 
the grandly-sublime ranges we find in the Rockies, nor 
the product of the awful powers of nature as displayed 
by the grim, barren, needle-pointed peaks and parched 
and barren valleys of our southwestern deserts. It was a 
landscape carved in surprising forms, with the elegance 
and symmetry of rounded hills and deep-set valleys, and 

35 



PUERTO RICO 

everywhere covered with the magnificent foliage of a 
climate warmed by a torrid sun, and watered copiously, 
day after day, by a moisture-laden atmosphere. 

We climbed the steep ascents of the backbone of the 
mountains just a few miles from Aybonito. The road 
doubled and twisted on itself in half a dozen places until 
it looked like a gigantic snake winding away in the dis- 
tance. A great wall had been built at one point where 
the road scaled the steep side of a cone-topped mountain, 
and the advance carriage could be seen from below, 
laboring onward a hundred feet above us. In the wall, 
embrasures gaped empty where recently the Spanish guns 
swept the road below. It was this stretch that the Span- 
ish soldiers commanded from an impregnable position on 
the mountains. It would have proved a fearful trap had 
our men marched into it, since, from the trenches which 
crowned the high hills, the artillery and small-arms could 
have annihilated an army of ten thousand men as easily 
as the three thousand men who were preparing to advance 
when the messenger arrived with the news of peace. On 
the side toward the enemy was a steep and precipitous 
mountain which fell into a narrow valley below; on the 
other, the rock rose bare and forbidding for fifty feet, and 
then, green-covered, at an angle of forty-five degrees for 
two hundred feet more. For over a mile extended this 
bare road, from which there would have been no escape 
except a retreat along its way, and the Spanish fire could 
have raked it with shrapnel and shell at perfectly-known 
ranges. Our military men who have seen this deadly 
and picturesque position agree that it would have in- 
volved great loss of life, if not utter rout, had the assault 
been ordered. 

As the carriages passed over the highest point of the 
road, some seventeen hundred feet above sea-level, a 

36 



THE MILITARY ROAD 

double vista revealed itself, that already viewed in the 
rear and a new one to the front, even more impressive 
in its varied beauties of nature than the one behind us. 

Down the mountain we rushed for three miles toward 
Aybonito, which came into view as a dream of fairy- 
land, with castles floating in the clouds. Through the 
silver-white mists the square towers of the cathedral thrust 
their turreted tops, and below, through the semi-transpar- 
ent clouds, a dim vision of a city revealed itself, topped 
with the ever-present red-tiled roofs of these southern 
climes. Unfortunately, all its beauty lay in the artistic 
touch of nature. In reality it was a dirty, squalid little 
town ; one of the many where no evidence of progress is 
observable. 

Between Aybonito and Cayey we began to notice the 
coflee-bushes, covered with berries turning red, and, in 
the early morning, troops of women and children trudged 
by us, swinging closely -woven baskets in which they 
gather the coffee-beans. The coffee plantations lie under 
the shade of forests, which are necessary to protect them 
from the fierce heat of the noonday sun, and the uninitiated 
would never dream that he was passing anything more 
than a jungle-thick virgin forest. On every mountain- 
side, clearings almost hanging in the air dotted the land- 
scape and told a story of renewed vigor in the native 
breast, and the planting of his little crop of sweet pota- 
toes, plantains, beans, and bananas. 'Way down in the 
valleys, lining the banks of the mountain streams, were 
the sugar-cane fields, and on the larger plantations the 
high chimneys of the sugar-boiling houses rose far above 
the plain. It was a scene of quiet, indolent life in which 
man works one hour and nature the rest of the day. 

Cayey is the great tobacco center and the place of 
manufacture of the finest cigars on the island. It is also 

37 



PUERTO RICO 

a hotbed of Spanish sympathizers, who make cigars for a 
living, and have worked under the patronage of the 
Spanish government. 

Between Cayey and Caguas we saw stretches of waving 
sugar-cane, interspersed with small fields of corn. No 
great tobacco-fields were seen, and it is said that the 
best tobacco is raised on the mountain-sides toward the 
east and away from the main road. For miles along this 
section the road is lined with the beautiful tree-fern, 
whose delicately - traced fronds look like filigree - work, 
and here and there patches of high, slender bamboo wave 
their heads to and fro, thus heightening the artistic effect 
of the gorgeous scenery. 

Orange-, lime-, banana-, alligator - pear-, nispero-, and 
gourd-trees fringe the road at every step, and their heavy 
burden of ripening fruit is a constant source of surprise 
and delight to the novice in tropical climes. It is a veri- 
table Paradise, where one has only to ask and receive, and 
the tall, stately cocoanut- and royal palm-trees are scat- 
tered amid all this luxuriance, suggesting one's childish 
ideal of Biblical lands. 

A second smaller mountain-range is passed over be- 
tween Caguas and Rio Piedras, though the topography is 
less rough in character than that previously traversed, 
and the valleys have widened out into broad, level fields, 
covered with tasseling sugar-cane, which, in January, is 
taken to some of the dozens of tile-roofed sugar-houses 
now visible everywhere. 

Rio Piedras is the suburban town of San Juan, and a 
narrow-gauge railroad connects it with the capital. 

Little road-houses, typically southern, are found every 
few miles along the roadside from Caguas to San Juan, 
and add much to the picturesque effect, with their tiny 
gardens of brilliant-colored flowers, naked toddling chil- 

38 



THE MILITARY ROAD 

dren, bright-kerchiefed old hags, and the mantilla-covered 
heads of dusky, dark-eyed seftoritas. Each one is a little 
store, with the counter opening on the road, and the 
drivers of the heavy -yoked and lumbering oxen stop often 
to drink a cup of caf^ negro or nibble some dulce cake and 
pass rude jokes with the women of the house. 

Around the doorways are mats covered with coffee-ber- 
ries and chicory seed, rotting in the sun, and near by a 
robust girl, with the charm of nature's grace, steadily 
raises and lowers a heavy wooden pestle in a primitive 
mortar made from a log, grinding coffee for the family 
and the wayside customer. It is a happy picture, in spite 
of its poverty, for one knows that here no poverty can be 
so great that human beings cannot eat in plenty, and that 
no icy winds will ever blow to freeze the heart in bitter- 
ness of distress and woe. 

The sun set in a mass of dark rain-clouds and colored 
them with heavy bands of golden hue ; the topmost rolls 
of fleecy cloud were silver-lined and tinted with rosy light. 
Below and across the wide expanse of salt-water marshes 
the white buildings of San Juan reflected the failing light 
of day. Along the roadside fierce-looking walls guarded 
the way to the city's entrance. They were rows upon 
rows of ancient masonry, built for the protection of the 
Spanish soldiers, from which they have whipped invading 
armies in days gone by, and would have offered a serious 
resistance to our men. The great forts of San Cristobal 
and Morro, with their grim walls, showed their heads 
above the rest of the city, still held by Spanish soldiers 
who, on the morrow, would leave these historic walls for- 
ever. It was an impressive and never-to-be-forgotten 
sight. 

Night came as we sped into the city, and the drivers 
yelled shrilly at loose-clad figures which thronged the 

39 



PUERTO RICO 

roadway, and fled from side to side as the carriages 
dashed by. 

The Spanish Guardia Civil saluted us as we passed 
opposite the flashing lights which filtered out of the store- 
doors ; always courteous, even in defeat. 

This ride should be taken by every American who visits 
the island. As a cycling trip it is unexcelled ; as a coach- 
ing trip, with fine animals, it would be superb, and even 
with poor, badly-treated little ponies, driven by men with 
no feeling for animal suffering, it is a journey always to 
be remembered. 



CHAPTER VI 

OVER THE TRAILS 

TRAIL-RIDING in Puerto Rico is both a terrible 
nightmare and a roseate-hued day-dream. In a 
single day's wild riding over the innermost rugged moun- 
tain country, one passes through blended feelings of terror 
and admiration, of sinking heart and buoyant ecstasy. 
It is a continual game of shuttlecock with one's senses, 
which are bounding one moment in the pure delight 
produced by wonderful panoramas, seen from clinging, 
bench-like pathways, and falling in the next with abject 
consternation before wild, headlong, rocky pitches on the 
trail, leading down to narrow troughs of waist-deep, suck- 
ing muds, where a single misstep would send you crashing 
down through the soft-fluttering banana-trees and creep- 
ing vines to the white limestones of the brawling moun- 
tain stream far below. 

For mixed sensations it is ahead of the dizzy trail- 
skirting in our Rockies and Sierra Nevadas. Though 
those regions offer to the eye almost limitless horizons, 
and the barren, rocky steeps are aglow with marvelous 
tints of red and white and brown, while the trail is seem- 
ingly pasted shakily to the side of yawning abysses and 
bold canyons, comparison takes not one whit from the 
excitement and interest of the by-traveling in this tropi- 
cal country. 

One of the finest trail trips, where the greatest diversity 

41 



PUERTO RICO 

of topography and vegetation may be seen, is from Ponce 
to Mayaguez, by way of Adjuntas, Utuado, Lares, and 
Las Marias. It takes five days to make the trip, and 
good weather and a strong horse are required to accom- 
plish the journey successfully. At the present time this 
region is designated as the " Heart of the Black Hand 
Country " by the military men, for it has been the seat of 
much marauding and incendiarism on the part of the 
lower-class Puertoriquefios, who are settling up old scores 
against the Spanish estate-holder. 

It is only nineteen miles from Ponce to Adjuntas, but 
it takes fully five hours to traverse the distance. Though 
the first twelve of the thirty kilometers are over a good 
military highway, the rest of the distance is painfully 
traveled over an alleged road, which is in reality a 
" slough of despond " whose mires and bogs would try 
the patience of a patron saint. 

On leaving town, the traveler rests a few minutes at 
the blacksmith-shop in the suburbs, where a cold shoe, 
without heels or calk, is carelessly tacked on the foot of 
his big American horse, while the admiring crowd of 
idle natives gathers round and remarks on the " Caballo 
grande del Americano." 

On the great road a string of early market venders 
stride briskly toward the city, with swinging hips and 
stifHy-poised heads, on which are neatly balanced their 
sources of personal revenue. The patting of their strong, 
bare feet raises little clouds of white dust from the pow- 
dered limestones of the roadway, and envelops them in 
the distance in hazy mists. Through the pedestrian 
throng now and then passes a native, tiny, rocking-chair 
horse, whose gait cannot be described — nor felt, for that 
matter, for several hours, when, alas! it becomes much 
like that torture of water falling drop by drop upon an 

42 




TREE FERNS ON THE ROAU 



OVER THE TRAILS 

unprotected head, so vividly described by ancient writers! 
On his back is the more prosperous citizen, the owner of 
a small plantation, astride a panniered saddle from the 
forward edges of which his legs hang unstirruped, swing- 
ing loosely from the knees. 

The planter and the commercial man come townward, 
from their beautiful little summer homes and villas scat- 
tered among the foothills a few miles back, in island- 
made surreys, behind galloping, sweating ponies, whose 
drivers urge them on with cracking whip, uttering sharp 
cries of warning to the more slowly-moving foot-travel- 
ers. There is an energy and activity displayed, during 
the morning hours, in this erstwhile Spanish isle, not 
seen in other Spanish countries, and it augurs well for 
the future of the people under a new and more progress- 
ive rule, by another race whose talisman is the word 
"hustle." 

The homes of the well-to-do near the great business 
centers are pleasing to look upon, with their white walls, 
big double-storied verandas, summer-houses, dove-cotes, 
and surrounding gardens of tropical flowers and fruits and 
beautiful foliage trees, and one always receives an open- 
handed welcome. After five or six miles out of Ponce, 
however, houses of the more pretentious kind are seldom 
seen, giving way to the more primitive road-house, where 
coffee, eggs, and dulces are ever ready to be served for a 
few cents to the hungry passer-by. 

At twelve kilometers out, the revenues — or the good 
intentions of the Spanish government — became ex- 
hausted, and the beautiful macadamized road — at the 
turning of a rocky cliff — ends abruptly, so that, from 
here to Ad juntas, the horseman plunges through quag- 
mire after quagmire. All that is lacking to convert the 
remainder of this road to Adjuntas into a fine highway is 

43 



PUERTO RICO 

the macadamizing of its bed, for the survey and earth- 
cutting were completed many years ago. The natives 
will assure you that it is a " camino reale," but that it is 
" mucho malo " in rainy weather. Its frightful condition 
is much augmented during the coffee-packing season by 
the heavy ox-carts which are laboriously hauled through 
the axle-deep mud by many yokes of oxen. There are 
almost ten miles of uphill work from the oceanside be- 
fore the high, sharp crest of the mountain-range, seven- 
teen hundred feet above sea-level, which overlooks the 
valley of Adjuntas, is reached. There are many exquisite 
windings in this miry road : here it overlooks a gorge six 
hundred feet below, from which rises the hollow roaring 
of cataracts hidden away from sight by the rank and 
overarching vegetation ; there it abruptly swings around 
into a deep re-entrant, across whose horseshoe form the 
meandering road may be seen half a mile away, and in 
whose deepest curve a beautiful cascade noisily dashes 
from rock to rock, embowered in the green of ferns and 
vines and lanias. 

From the great crest at the top of the range, the ocean, 
a dozen miles away, seems to rise up on its outer edge 
like the curving of a huge saucer, and the few vessels far 
out on its waters are but tiny specks through the glasses. 
Toward Adjuntas range after range of mountains is seen 
to the northward, and it is seldom that so rough a land- 
scape is found in such a small area. Not a foot of the 
country, so far as the eye can reach in this direction, 
seems to be level, and yet this valley and the one of 
Utuado beyond are among the foremost coffee regions 
of the island. 

The road down the mountain to Adjuntas is formidable. 
Out on the ragged edge, overhanging the deep ravines, 
is a pathway good and firm ; inside, for fifteen feet to the 

44 




HALF WAY TO UTUADO 



OVER THE TRAILS 

edge of the heavy hanging wall of rock, it is knee-deep and 
even breast-high with mud, so tenacious, so well kneaded 
by floundering horses and cattle, that every withdrawn 
hoof gives off a report like drawing a cork from a bottle. 
It is a great temptation to trust one's horse to that bet- 
ter, narrower, outer path, but one experience in going 
downhill for fifty feet, through banana-tree tops and 
coffee-bushes, with a horse somewhere in the air behind 
you, is generally sufificient for the most daring man, and 
plodding, staggering, pulling through the glue-like mix- 
ture is far preferable to aerial flights through coffee 
plantations. 

Adjuntas is a tiny town, with the ever-present church 
and brick-courted plaza. It is remarkable for nothing 
except its doorways decorated by the mystic " Black 
Hand," the insignia of Death placed upon them by brig- 
ands, bold, not in the face of an enemy, but behind his 
back. At the time this is written, the citizens of the 
town are filled with fear that the houses will be destroyed 
by the Black-Hand artist ; but in truth there is little dan- 
ger, as it is hinted by those on the inside that the signs are 
largely the work of a few townsmen themselves, worry- 
ing and working on the sympathies of American officers. 

The town has a population of a little more than two 
thousand souls, a few negroes, much mixed blood, and at 
least a half Spanish and Puerto Rican whites. The Ad- 
juntas province or jurisdiction has inhabitants to the 
number of eighteen thousand, and coffee-raising is almost 
the sole industry. 

The next day's journey on the trail-riding up to Maya- 
guez is to Yauco, some twenty-two miles, though no one 
seems to know the exact distance. Spanish West Indians 
compute travel in hours, not distances, and it is very dis- 
tressing to be told by a man on a clever, ground-covering 

45 



PUERTO RICO 

pony, that it is " Dos horas, no mas !" when you are 
astride of a big, stumbling northern brute, that you know 
will require at least four hours to cover the same distance ; 
you comfort yourself that this is not quite so bad as the 
Arkansas unit, " a jog," or the West Virginia one of a 
" right smart stretch up the road." 

Formerly the travel-way between these two towns was 
nothing but a narrow foot-trail, but, when General Henry 
made his remarkable advance toward Arecibo, an attempt 
was made to construct a wagon-road over which artillery 
might be taken. For nearly two weeks, over a thousand 
men shoveled and picked and scraped into the precipi- 
tous mountainside, broadening the road quite uniformly to 
a width of fifteen feet, but the climatic obstacles were in- 
surmountable, and, when the heavy rains fell, the new 
work became a sea of slimy mud. It was a great feat to 
attempt, but an army of a hundred thousand men could 
not construct a passable road in this mountainous country 
during the rainy season, without filling its way with 
crushed rock from end to end. 

When I traversed it four months later, at many places 
landslides had taken place, and perilous footpaths, totter- 
ing on the edges of drops five hundred feet deep, wound 
round and over them. 

I was given a detail of two army men, for fear the Black 
Hands might make way with me, and in fact I had some 
guard through the entire journey, but a milder, less war- 
like-looking being than the average alleged native villain 
could not be imagined, and there certainly is less danger 
of being held up on the road than in portions of our own 
country. 

Practically the entire distance to Utuado is down a 
narrow mountain valley ; not that the rider follows the 
river — far from it. At one point he crosses the stream 

46 



OVER THE TRAILS 

after coming downhill for several miles, and then imme- 
diately — apparently — makes for the topmost rugged 
peaks, on an uphill journey of five miles, winding in and 
out around the steep faces of the mountain curves, until, 
on a cloudy day, all sense of direction is lost. If the beauty 
of the scenery and its constantly-changing forms did not 
hold the eye enthralled, it would thoroughly exasperate 
the hurrying tourist to see ahead of him a giant, almost- 
bare mountain-top, and then, after traveling for an hour 
without another glimpse, and with the growing feeling 
that he must have passed that mile-post, to find it loom- 
ing up in front of him from a new direction, not appreci- 
ably nearer. There are no short cuts or straight lines in 
these tumbled ranges ; only by great arcs — almost semi- 
circles — is forward progress made. 

Every foot of the way is lovely; looking sideways 
through shaking banana-trees, one sees the trail a few 
hundred yards away, though he may have traveled a 
mile around, past the dashing brook in the course. On 
the precipitous hillsides are perched the palm-made huts 
of the peasants, braced up with shaky legs on their down- 
ward side, which promise some day to let them slide into 
the valley below. Ahead, the high-built road disap- 
pears at a sharp turning, as if its end was reached, and 
far beyond, five miles away — though it looks but the 
distance of a few minutes' walk — a great peak rises with 
an amazingly rocky and barren crest, for this land where 
nature's green finds foothold everywhere. 

Off-shooting trails scour the hills in every direction, 
and one sees them creeping and winding up the steeps 
like tortuous snakes ; only wide enough for the sure-footed 
little ponies, and leading to the homes of coffee-planters 
well on the top of the overhanging ridges. 

Deep in the next winding two barefooted little girls 

47 



PUERTO RICO 

are filling their calabashes from the tiny rivulet, which 
finds its way to the great river below, with bounds and 
jumps, in crystal spray, refreshing the luxuriant, broad- 
leaved yautia lilies and the always-present banana. The 
little ones are timid and bashful in the presence of "Ameri- 
canos," and, in reply to cordial salutations, one gets but a 
feeble " adios," though one hears their voices, merry with 
laughter, as they disappear, sliding down the side paths 
through the bushes to the house, hidden like a nest 
somewhere in the foliage below. 

Another mile or two of swinging travel and the road is 
blocked by half a hundred men deep in the absorbing 
pastime of a cock-fight. The situation is a particularly 
odd one, on a narrow road, whose right side rises six 
hundred feet above, and whose left falls from the stilt- 
perched house skirting the edge five hundred feet below. 
The confines are small, but the fun is fast and furious. 
It is an orderly crowd of laughing, joking mestizos, who 
insist that we shall dismount and at least have coffee 
with them, if we cannot rest ourselves longer. The 
man who learns to appreciate the simple, open-hearted 
hospitality of the Puertoriquefios secures much that is 
pleasurable in life. 

Nearer Utuado the valley broadens, and the trail fi- 
nally comes down to the level of the stream. In the last 
few miles it has passed through magnificent coffee planta- 
tions, and wound under the moist shades of overhanging 
trees and vines, and from the invisible stream — now a 
rushing river — comes the music of a roaring cascade fall- 
ing in the deep-carven limestone holes of its bed, and 
drowning the hoof-beats of our tired horses. 

Utuado is a pretty little town with a population of 
some three thousand ; a coffee town exclusively. Its 
streets are clean and the storekeepers prosperous. The 

48 




A BIT OF NARROW TRAIL OUT OF UTUADO 



OVER THE TRAILS 

town has an electric-light plant, coffee-mills, cathedral, 
jail, substantial residences for the better class, and an out- 
lying village of thatched houses for the poor, called face- 
tiously by the army, " Little Egypt." Its plaza is as 
handsome in horticultural designs as those of any of the 
larger cities, being brilliant in gay coloring of flowers and 
plants. On Sunday mornings the white-tented market 
scene presents itself like magic, on a brick-paved square 
which is bare and deserted during the week. The evi- 
dent prosperity of Utuado, for an interior town, is largely 
due to its being connected, by fourteen miles of fair mili- 
tary highway, with the coast at Arecibo. 

From Utuado to Lares is thirty miles, if it is a foot, 
though the map indicates but twenty ; it feels more like 
sixty when you stiffly drop from your horse at sunset in 
front of the army headquarters, but there are compensa- 
tions for sore muscles and tired backs. 

The road out of Utuado towards Arecibo is a beautiful 
one, leading past the solemn, high-walled cemetery, over 
a handsome iron bridge crossing the Rio Grande de Are- 
cibo, and down the river valley, banked high with moun- 
tains; but this is not the Utuado-Lares trail — this only 
leads to its obscure starting-point a mile away. 

There is no rest for the weary — after one has ridden 
these mud-bound trails for two days on a strange horse, 
he feels like walking gently on his feet in place of 
lurching in rock-ribbed saddle. Up we go, toward the 
top of that near-by peak which experience has now con- 
vinced us is ten miles away, over a boggy, twisting foot- 
path. This trail is unique ; it follows one side of the 
ridge, fifty feet below the top, for a mile ; then, without 
any apparent warrant, it sidles over to the other edge 
through a cut pass, and wanders aimlessly along for a 
mile or so before repeating the operation. On the ofT- 

4 

49 



PUERTO RICO 

side the sun falls blazing hot, and you swelter between 
the environing trees, but the trail is fine and hard, cut 
from the heavy, disintegrated rocks ; while on the near- 
side it is shaded from the sun, and cold shivers run down 
your moist back, from the chilling air blowing fresh down 
the gorge, while your horse plumps staggeringly through 
stiff mud-holes two feet deep. It is a game of hide-and- 
seek, for ten miles, with sunstroke and pneumonia, with 
sunstroke // most of the time. 

It is difificult to remember having seen a more beautiful 
panorama, even in the Sierra Nevadas, than the one 
which greets the eye to the rearward, near the summit of 
the first climb. Utuado, clothed in dazzling white, lies 
cuddled in the cradle of a lovely valley filled with rank 
green grasses and waving sugar-cane, while, keeping 
guard over the little hamlet of men, rise mountains on 
mountains, fierce and jagged in giant outline, but softened 
by the mantling luxuriance of tropical verdure. 

The trail hangs on the brink of deep gorges, that would 
turn the head with dizziness if one were not kept from fairly 
looking down the heights by the surrounding vegetation. 
At one point, fully a thousand feet above the valley, a 
maize-field is planted at such an inclination that even the 
earth which feeds its roots must find difficulty in staying 
at home. How it is cultivated is still a mystery, and the 
crop must be harvested from a balloon. I have been told 
by a veracious army officer that it is no uncommon thing 
for several men to brace their backs, from the downhill 
side, against an ox while plowing, but I have never 
witnessed the feat ; it is either that or down-side stilts. 

It is miles over the top of the mountain heights, through 
thick forests of guava-trees which protect the glistening 
leaves and reddening berries of the coffee-bushes. There 
are level stretches of mud where it seems absolutely im- 

50 



OVER THE TRAILS 

possible for a horse to pass through, and woe betide the 
man who is unfortunate enough to get his horse down; 
it is even chances whether he will get him up again, 
unless he secures a yoke of cattle and pulls his animal, by 
main strength, to firm land. 

Over the range to the northward, the eye at last catches 
a new landscape ; a strange, queer mountain-ridge — one 
which seemingly does not belong to Puerto Rico — looms 
up in castellated forms, almost like huge cathedrals, or 
like, perhaps, the wondrous middle-century fortifications 
the Spanish have been so fond of building. As far as the 
eye will carry you, twenty miles in either direction, these 
new mountains — the only ones in Puerto Rico like them 
— are in sight. When, after two hours more of down- 
hill riding, you are under their curious walls, they appear 
to be sandstones, but are in reality old coral formations, 
which are crumbling and water-worn. The main trail 
follows the base of this configuration for ten miles into 
Lares, and clustered under the wrinkled cliffs are the 
homes of the peasants, pretty in themselves and their 
settings in spite of squalor. 

As the day is dying, Lares bursts into view from the last 
hilltop, its white buildings gloried by the crimson sun. 
It is an exquisite scene ; the little village with its high 
cathedral, its red-tiled roofs, and the smoke of evening 
fires burnished into gold by the setting sun. One long, 
steep hill into town, and the curious throngs in the streets 
watch us as we make a last gallant canter toward the 
barracks, and dismount gradually, but without assistance. 

Lares is another coffee town, and it is said that one 
man alone ships annually a million and a half pounds of 
coffee, over the fearful wagon-road to Arecibo. It has 
been strongly Spanish in sentiment, and consequently 
there are many wealthy families in the city. The best 

51 



PUERTO RICO 

houses are richly furnished from the Spanish standpoint, 
though American and Spanish ideas of aestheticism differ, 
ours seeming to run recently to tables covered with col- 
lections of fragile coffee-cups, and theirs to tables adorned 
with menageries of china images. The furniture, it must 
be admitted, is ample and comfortable, and there are no 
pipe-stem chairs needing the sign " Don't sit here! " 

The fourth day's ride from Lares to Las Marias may 
be a fine one, but the writer got lost, and took, perforce, 
a most remarkable trip — through the stupidity of a Mis- 
souri recruit who accompanied him to guard his life, and 
who thought he knew the trail. It is said to be twelve 
miles, but, off the trail, I am convinced it is forty. The 
first few miles were good going, over a fair road toward 
the south ; then the trail plunged abruptly to the left, 
down into a river-bed far below. The recruit — who was 
born and raised in St. Louis — struck the first trail leading 
upward and toward Aguadilla, and was hopelessly lost. 
Every mountain crest, every hut along the way, every 
river through which he waded, reminded him of the self- 
same thing that he had seen before, in his journey with 
the command to Lares. Poor fellow ! there was a frightful 
sameness in the landscape, to a man without much travel- 
sense; in the green mountains covered with royal palms, 
in the vine-festooned brooks, and the palm-thatched huts 
with bits of cement floors for coffee-drying. They all 
looked alike in much the way that all coons do. 

We were politely informed at the next shanty that the 
" camino reale " for Lares lay two leagues to our left, and 
that, by following the foot-trail which led to the rear of 
the house, we would come out on the highroad on the 
top of the next mountain. I could talk bad Spanish and 
he could n't, so I led. It was the wildest ride that one 
ever took on the back of a horse ; the very first plunge 

52 



OVER THE TRAILS 

was down a mountainside for two miles, over a path where 
the horses had to put all four feet in a straight line to 
walk at all, and the slightest misstep would have precipi- 
tated rider and horse into gulches twenty feet deep. I 
had given up my big army horse and taken to a small 
native animal the day before, and it was most interesting 
and satisfying to watch the way he actually let himself 
down long flights of steps cut in the steep face of the hill. 
All four feet together one moment, and then a hop with 
both front legs, and the next lower step was made. It 
was as clever a performance as a trick pony could give. 
A hundred feet down and alongside of a deep gully cut 
in the hillside, my guide's horse fell and landed with his 
rider in the deep ditch, the horse pinning his leg down. 
Fortunately it did not break, though it was so badly hurt 
that he could hardly stand alone, and his shaken nerves 
would not let him ride. Three hours were spent slip- 
ping, sliding, falling, over these by-trails in a search for the 
main road. It was like a tangled maze, with the right 
combination somewhere, but difficult to find. Now up, 
now down, through tangles of thicket and coffee-bushes, 
in the broiling sunlight of ridges, till we found a path 
that led clear to the stream-bed of the valley. On top 
of the next mountain the main road lay, but it had to be 
found by traveling over just such another network of 
paths as we had come down. Not a house had been 
seen for two hours, except burned ruin after ruin of the 
once homes of Spanish coffee-planters, whose property 
had become the spoil of the revengeful Puerto Rican 
laborers. On the main roads one cannot realize the im- 
mense amount of valuable property which was destroyed 
by the enraged natives, during the transition period from 
Spanish to American government. It was brought home 
very forcibly in such side trips as we were taking. 

53 



PUERTO RICO 

Two barefooted men were skulking through the under- 
brush, and stood hesitatingly at our call, then coming 
slowly forward. No doubt both were red-handed in the 
burning of the still-smouldering house near by, and their 
consciences troubled them. For twenty centavos, one of 
them agreed to guide us to the road, and, as his heart 
came back and his confidence became stronger, he waxed 
confidentially eloquent, assuring us, with grave face, that 
the Spaniards would have directed us to the wrong road, 
and that all Spaniards should have their throats cut. 

At last, with steaming and strained horses, we crept to 
the top of the twelve-hundred-foot rise, and right on the 
topmost point of the crest, the long-sought-for main road 
ran, by the house of a lone coffee-planter who defended 
his eyrie home from incendiaries with loaded gun. The 
guide left us in the thicket ; he and the planter evidently 
were not boon companions. 

We were royally received, dined on curried chicken, 
served with delectable black coffee, and sent on our way 
with the well-wishes of our bowing host, who waved us a 
last farewell, as we disappeared over the well-beaten trail, 
from his balcony, hung with rifles like a veritable arsenal. 

From here to Las Marias, the trail had originally been 
cut sufficiently wide for ox-carts, but the raging floods 
which had swept down its entrenching sides had long 
since destroyed its utility in this direction, by cutting 
huge gullies in the center, and forcing the bridle-paths 
out high along its sides. A long descent to a stream- 
bed again, and another climb to the top of the other 
side, and the American flag was seen waving fifty feet in 
the air, from a freshly-cut bamboo pole. It was the dirty, 
unkempt village of Las Marias. From the top of one 
mountain, over two mountain-ranges, and again to the 
top of the fourth — in addition to being lost — is enough 

54 



OVER THE TRAILS 

riding for one day. The view from these immense ridges 
was extravagantly lovely. Off to the northwest, the placid 
sea near Aguadilla comes into sight, over and over again, 
while to the south the crumpled mountain-ranges lie in 
confused masses, with tiny clusters of planters' houses 
crowning the upmost points. 

The region from Las Marias to Mayaguez — eighteen 
miles — is commonplace compared with the wilderness left 
behind, for the road is fairly good for nine miles to the 
great red half-way house, and excellent the rest of the 
way, over a macadamized bed lined with wealthy planters' 
houses, whose pretentious, arched, wooden gateways bear 
their names and the euphonious titles of the haciendas. 

These five days of trail-riding should never be missed 
by visitors to the island, who have strong constitutions 
and are saddle-wise, for nowhere will you find the same 
combination of scenery — the serrated topography of Ari- 
zona, the flowering loveliness of the tropics, and the 
hanging homes of the Swiss in a new architecture. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE GREAT CAVES 

IT is astonishing how little is known about the geology 
of the island of Puerto Rico, and the profound mani- 
festations which Nature has there made of her power in 
earth-making. 

At Ponce, San Juan, and Cayey, no one knew of caves 
in the land ; the people had all heard rumors of mineral 
wealth, but could not definitely state the localities. 

Even at Caguas, six miles away from a great cavern 
which may develop into as much of a wonder as our own 
Mammoth Cave, few people had ever heard of it, and no 
one had ever seen the interior of its expansive chambers. 

At Aguas Buenas, which lies five miles to the westward 
from Caguas, the people of the little village were aware 
of great holes in the mountains toward the south, but 
only two negroes had ever explored them, and they only 
to a limited extent. 

The owner of this unknown marvel of Puerto Rico is 
Seflor Mufioz, a large coffee-planter. He told us that 
several years ago an Englishman, a member of some Brit- 
ish scientific society, had paid a short visit to the cavern 
and was much interested, and it is quite likely that a 
report of its wonders has been published in the scientific 
journals of Great Britain. 

The expedition over the surface of the earth to the 
cavern, known as the " Dark Cave," is filled with almost 
as many surprises to the explorer as the actual finish of 

56 



THE GREAT CAVES 

the journey, when he finds himself environed in mineral 
walls of white and pendent stalactites, a mile beneath the 
earth's surface. 

The trip proper begins from Aguas Buenas, after a five- 
mile ride over a bit of military road leading out of Caguas. 
This road is excellent — having a solid bed — though not as 
good as the main highway between San Juan and Ponce. 
It winds around the strongly-eroded mountain steeps, 
always climbing higher and higher, until one looks back 
into the fair valley of Caguas a thousand feet below, with 
its miles of rustling sugar-cane fields just tasseling into 
purple brushes, which foretell the coming of the cane- 
cutting season. Over the wide expanse are dotted the 
long, low buildings of the factories, relieved in their flat- 
ness by towering brick chimneys, from which curls a 
thin blue smoke produced by the test-heating of the pans. 
It is a fair scene, as are all landscape-vistas in Puerto Rico 
which recall, more and more strongly as they become 
familiar, the contours of Arizona and New Mexico in a 
new and strange dress; the rich reds and browns of the 
desert are clothed in one lovely gown of green, with set- 
tings of palms and bananas in place of the gaunt and 
wrinkled cacti. 

Before us, around a turn in the road, perched high on 
the mountainside, lies the little village of Aguas Buenas, 
with its weather-worn and battered church prominently 
in sight ; from the tower, the early morning hour is struck 
in cracked tones which reverberate among the houses of 
the scarcely-awakened town, and float still farther out to 
the clustering thatched huts of the poor, clinging to the 
hillsides in defiance of the laws of gravitation. The 
cool morning air, the sky filled with fleecy clouds 
through which the slanting sunlight streams in moving 
patches over the surface of the landscape, the women 

57 



PUERTO RICO 

trudging with heavy loads of dirty linen on their heads 
to a near-by stream, the white-clothed, barefooted men 
astride of panniered, shambling ponies, the well-dressed 
planters, and shopkeepers yawningly opening their closely- 
barred windows, combine to make a new stage setting, 
part Eastern, part Spanish, part Mexican, and, last of all, 
part American, for over many houses floats our decorative 
flag. 

Nine men with American uniforms — part of the First 
Kentucky Volunteers — protect the American interests of 
the town, under a lucky second lieutenant who lives at 
the Judge's house as his valued guest. We breakfast 
in the barracks for a second time on oatmeal, coffee, 
bread, and bacon. The two guides to the cave are found, 
and, with several more volunteers, we start for the cavern, 
which is said to be the distance away of that elusive 
Spanish measure, " an hour's ride." 

In an air-line it is hardly a mile, but there is no telling 
how far it really is by trail, measured by any former 
training in covering space, as the way is narrow and tor- 
tuous. It goes up hills steeper than the roofs of shingled 
houses, it travels down declivities only short of actual 
precipices, and it winds into curves and 5's and circles, 
until the body is racked with the slipping and sliding, 
and the points of the compass are obscured. 

When the blas6 man seeks new sensations, let him travel 
over the every-day trails of the interior portions of Puerto 
Rico. Rolling one's horse down the high bank of a dry- 
wash in Arizona, riding through the deep forests of the 
northern Sierras, and forcing one's way, foot by foot, 
through jungle mazes, are old and commonplace experi- 
ences, and without joy, as compared to the scaling, on 
horseback, of a knife-edged ridge on a narrow clayey path, 
always damp enough to make it an even wager whether 

58 



THE GREAT CAVES 

one's horse will slip down one side or stumble headlong 
off the other. 

Here one strikes a fairly level stretch — a veritable cor- 
duroy road — filled in between the hard-earth ridges with 
soft, sticking mud, ten inches deep; the short-stepping 
native ponies walk in each other's tracks until deep holes 
are formed in mud between the earthen railroad-ties of 
drier soil. Our larger, clumsier American horses stum- 
ble and slip and snort with fear as they go through these 
new feats of stair-climbing. 

Up one ridge we go — not wider, certainly, than four feet 
— for a two-hundred-foot rise, and every saddle has gone 
backward to the horses' rumps; one man even rides in 
front of his saddle, clinging vigorously to his panting 
horse's mane. On both sides, the coffee-bushes, filled 
with purpling berries growing under the shade of the 
guava-trees, brush against our horses' sides. 

There a green but luscious orange strikes a traveler on 
the head, as he passes by ; here a man ducks to miss the 
outspreading branches of the mocha-tree ; and there, 
again, another man has nearly been swept from the saddle 
by a huge bunch of bananas swung fairly over the trail. 

Below us, on the right, lies the quite-modern frame 
house of the coffee-planter, with its tinned roof. Around 
his narrow yard — for his home is on a rounded knoll — are 
spread the coffee-cloths, deep-covered with drying coffee ; 
while, not far away, four peons struggle with the handled 
fly-wheels of the crude berry-breaker, from whose shaking 
wire screens rolls a hail of green-hulled coffee. 

From the summit of a sharp-pointed hill, after an hour's 
struggle of ups and downs, through stony creek-beds, 
along steep, grassy slopes, and under shady bowers of 
trees and pulpy plants, we have obtained our grandest 
view of the valley. 

59 



PUERTO RICO 

Far to the east, over the valley of Caguas, lies the 
Loquillo mountain-range, and, through the banks of 
heavy cloud which screen its crest. El Yunque dimly 
looms, the highest point on the island. To the north, a 
second chain of mountains five miles away cuts off the 
view of the ocean and the city of San Juan. On the 
west, we look through long narrow valleys for miles away. 
On the south, right at hand, is the white, precipitous 
bluff of limestone, under which lie the caverns. Clinging 
to every tiny patch of earth are the vegetal growths of a 
tropical clime, and, at least a thousand feet below, in the 
narrow gorge, rushes a mountain stream, the sound of 
whose waters comes faintly to our ears, as it leaps over 
great boulders and down creamy-faced walls of stone. 

A mile more of downhill in a wind-about fashion, and 
the horses are left at last, tied to calabash-trees laden with 
their huge green globes. A few yards to the right is a 
great opening in the wall of rock, but we are told that 
this passage is unknown, and that the main entrance is 
down the jungle-covered hill two hundred feet below. 

The natural entrance to these caverns is very beautiful. 
It is down a narrow gorge, whose walls are the sides of 
great falls of rock. Over the uppermost end of this 
passage, which must be scaled with hands and feet, hang 
banana- and orange-trees. Between, and reaching out 
toward the cool, moist air which rushes upward, are the 
tropical ferns, with their leaves of filigree-work, five feet 
in length. On every side and from every cranny spring 
soft-leaved vines, and yet farther toward the bottom, 
pendent roots swing in great coils like inanimate snakes. 

Forty feet down through this passage is the bottom — or 
rather the top — of the great rock-fall, and opening from it 
at each side are great yawning black holes, the mouths 
of the" Dark Cave." 

60 



THE GREAT CAVES 

Our guides are carrying a big roll of native pitch lights, 
the ignitible material being a sweet, odoriferous gum 
which is poured into the hollowed end of a dried and 
rolled banana sheath, the whole being tied together with 
binding cord from a cocoanut palm. These lights burn 
fitfully, sputtering and red, sending up clouds of incense 
very pleasant to the nostrils in small quantities. A 
little, dark-faced native has scrambled down the rocky 
entrance, with a calabash shell, filled with water, balanced 
on his head, and, after we have all drank, we start into 
the left-hand cave. 

The guide warns everyone against too near an approach 
to a great black spider which lives in this dark world, but 
we need no further cautioning after having seen him once. 
With a body as large as a silver quarter, and long, thin, 
wiry legs, stretched out four inches in length in a full- 
grown specimen, he may be as vicious and as poisonous 
as he is represented to be; we do not experiment. 

The first passage of a hundred yards is not very high — 
not more than fifteen or twenty feet. The floor is muddy 
and slippery, and the condensed water from the moving 
air, which nearly extinguishes our primitive lights, drips 
steadily from the ceiling. We are all visibly disappointed 
in that the hanging stalactites are covered with dirt or 
vegetal fungi of dark brown, which makes the first gallery 
a dungeon, even with the flaring lights. 

Now the chambers are opening out, and the sound of 
rushing water above our heads, among the thickening 
mass of lighter-colored stalactites, strikes our startled 
ears. We peer upward, and, as we strain our eyes, see a 
thousand, a million, fast-moving shadows. They are 
bats, with rushing, fanning wings, whose lightning flight 
gives out the sound of mountain torrents. They thicken 
as we move inward until the air is filled with them, a few 

6i 



PUERTO RICO 

feet above our heads; then one, then another, of us is 
struck by them in their panic-stricken flight. Their skin- 
Hke wings and soft-furred bodies produce an uncanny- 
thrill, as they brush by our bare faces and necks, and it 
is quite impossible to repress a cry of alarm when the 
soft pulpy forms strike one fairly in the face. They are 
really harmless, but the incessant roar of their wings 
almost drowns our voices for the first five hundred yards. 

These upper rooms — which we traversed for fully two 
miles, without seeing, probably, a tenth part of the sur- 
face-meanderings — are all the native guides are familiar 
with. Every deep hole which leads downward is an un- 
known world to them, and many were their expressions 
of horror when we crowded to the brink and cast stones 
into the depths, listening to the reverberations as they 
bounded from ledge to ledge, the returning sounds grow- 
ing fainter as they sped downward. 

Unfortunately, we did not carry any rope, and not a 
foot of it was to be had at Aguas Buenas or in the 
countryside, so we were stopped at this level; this de- 
tracted from our enjoyment of the great chambers, with 
their overhanging decoration of marble icicles and walls 
fluted into beautiful solid forms by the trickling, lime- 
impregnated waters. 

The floor everywhere was covered with black, water- 
soaked earth, full of patches of mushy mud, over which 
crawled the loathsome, heavy-clawed land-crab of this 
region. Our guides seemed more interested in crab- 
hunting than in any other feature of the cave, and chased 
them through the slimy mud to a capture; when at 
last we saw daylight again, they dangled a great string 
of the unsightly creatures before our eyes with smiling 
faces, assuring us that they were "muchos buenos " to eat. 

When we were at least two thousand yards from the 

62 



THE GREAT CAVES 

entrance our guides became alarmed for fear our lights 
would not last, so we made our way hurriedly toward 
daylight again, passing ramifying hallways without ex- 
amination. 

It was a weird flight, in which the dark shadows of the 
manlike stalagmites fled backward as we passed out, and 
the great tessellated ceilings danced a red, flame-lit fan- 
dango to the music of the fanning wings of countless bats. 

The entrance to the right was even more interesting, 
as the windings of the cave were more sinuous, breaking 
into great halls from passages through which we crawled 
on our hands and knees. 

At one point we discovered a passage downward which 
our guides had never explored. It was very remarkable, 
as on one side was a highly-inclined mass of blue, shaly 
rock, almost black in color, while on the other was the 
creamy white of a finely-crystalline and metamorphosed 
limestone, which gleamed and scintillated in the flaring 
light. 

Through this line of demarcation between two deposits, 
which had once been bedded on each other in a horizon- 
tal position and then lifted high by a great earth-flexure 
which probably raised the island of Puerto Rico from 
out of the depths of the ocean, we traveled for several 
hundred feet, letting ourselves down yard by yard until 
we could hear the babbling of a subterranean brook still 
many hundred feet below. 

Two smooth, solid walls, four feet apart, with a drop of 
thirty feet to the next ledge, kept us from going lower. 
It was tantalizing to hear the hollow musical echoes 
which came back from falling stones, but without ropes 
we could go no farther. 

From the second cave there are many exits; in fact 
our guides became lost through our enterprising explora- 

63 



PUERTO RICO 

tions, and, after we had gone into many new chambers, 
and admired the spectral effects of sifting daylight from 
the high domes, mixed with the red tinge and smoke of 
our crude lamps, they were afraid to turn back to hunt 
for the original entrance, so we were, perforce, obliged to 
clamber out through a narrow opening on the opposite 
side of the mountain, and toil and scramble over the 
broken rocks toward the summit of the ridge, embowered 
in the wildest maze of tropical luxuriance that can pos- 
sibly be imagined. 

Many of the stalactites and the limestone rocks are 
stained with blue and green mineral salts, which would be 
very beautiful under the electric light, but which seem 
only darkened and dirty patches under the feeble light of 
torches. Their colors are exquisite when seen by the 
light of day. 

At the entrance to the cave we were met by the chief 
functionaries of the town of Aguas Buenas, the Alcalde, 
the Judge, and a horde of servants, who invited us back 
to Seftor Muftoz's hacienda to lunch. The lunch con- 
sisted of rice, eggs, and chicken cooked in the same ves- 
sel, coffee, red wine, and bread ; and, after eight hours 
within the confines of the dark caverns, this simple re- 
past seemed royal — its chief charm being the constant, 
thoughtful hospitality extended by the Puertoriquefios 
to the Americans. 

When our new island becomes a great winter resort for 
people of leisure in the United States, these caves — 
situated as they are between fifteen hundred and two 
thousand feet above the sea, amid unsurpassed luxuriance 
of vegetation, with the ever-fresh vistas of this lovely 
country spread out before the traveler — will gain the re- 
nown which they merit and become a boon to the seeker 
after new sensations. 

64 



CHAPTER VIII 

INDUSTRIAL POSSIBILITIES 

PUERTO RICO is a veritable desert for the poor man 
today, unless he goes there with some definite 
commission to execute. 

Just at present, there are few things which the Ameri- 
can without a bank account can do in the island, suffi- 
ciently remunerative to furnish him with the staff of life; 
one of these is to enlist as a recruit in the army at $15 a 
month, and another is to drive a government mule-wagon 
at $40 a month and rations. There is nothing else in 
sight for him, unless he can speak Spanish, in which event 
he may become an interpreter for the army, or possibly, 
if he can mix drinks well, he may secure a position as bar- 
tender in one of the new saloons. 

I should like to emphasize the statement that now, and 
for some time to come — until Congress adopts new laws 
for Puerto Rico, and American investors invade the island 
and create a demand for clever poor men — it is a good 
country for the impecunious to keep out of, however 
ambitious they may be. 

At San Juan and at Ponce there are numbers of young 
Americans who rushed, hot-headed, into this supposed 
promised land, and who are slowly but surely wearing 
out their shoe-leather, with no immediate prospect of 
replacing it, in the search for openings which will build 
them a fortune. 

65 



PUERTO RICO 

Everything is moderately high-priced, even with the 
exchange of silver in America's favor. The American 
army demands more and buys more than did the Spanish 
army, and, as a result, prices have risen, controlled to 
some extent, also, by the fact that the Puertoriqueftos 
have discovered that Americans are more prodigal with 
their means, and are willing to pay higher prices. 

At the Inglaterra Hotel in San Juan, and also at the 
Hotel Frangais in Ponce — which are the leading hostelries 
of these two cities — the daily rate, including twelve- 
o'clock breakfast, six-o'clock dinner, and sleeping-room, 
is $3-75- Coffee, eggs, and bread in the caf6 in the early 
morning are called an extra, which brings the bill up 
to $4.25 Spanish, or — at the prevailing rate of exchange 
— about $2.75 American, per diem. The service one re- 
ceives in return for this would, in the United States, be 
considered high-priced at $1. 50. It will be found difficult 
to live under $50 Spanish per month anywhere on the 
island, whether hotels, caf^s, or private boarding-houses 
are patronized. 

General outfitting goods are somewhat lower than in 
the United States. Thin clothes are very cheap; suits 
of good, serviceable linen and colored stuffs may be made 
up by the tailors at prices ranging from $5.50 to $10 
Spanish money. Fine dress-goods command more than 
American prices. Shirts, underclothes, collars, and cuffs 
are as high as in the United States and not nearly so 
well made, though fabricated from quite as good ma- 
terials. Good shoes — Puerto Rican hand-cobbled — may 
be obtained at prices ranging from $2 to $5 Spanish, and 
fine French goods are to be had at fifty per cent, more, 
in the same money, which gives one an advantage over 
America, so far as foot-gear is concerned. 

Foods are both dearer and cheaper than in America, 

66 



INDUSTRIAL POSSIBILITIES 

depending upon whether they are imported or home prod- 
ucts. Butter is a luxury for which you pay loc. a tiny 
pat ; cooked eggs are five to ten cents apiece in the cities; 
milk can only be had in the morning, at loc. a quart; ice, 
in the towns where there are ice-plants, is becoming the 
proper thing, but it comes higher, a few times, than an 
American combine can lift it; cold beer on ice is worth 
30c. a bottle — a month ago every native caf6 proprietor 
insisted that it would break the bottles to put them 
a-cooling, but he has been convinced of his error under 
our excellent tuition; coffee is a dream, at loc. a cup, 
and chocolate a nectar indeed, at 20c. ; pungent clarets, 
good withal, are cheap at 60c. a quart bottle, Hennessy 
three-star brandy at $1 a bottle, and rum — the devil's 
own — at two centavos a drink. 

It is very difficult for the average American to hold his 
own against the combination of climate and native cook- 
ing, unless he has some Mexican blood in his veins or is 
a , good campaigner. The continual warm weather is 
enervating, but the food-mixtures of olive oil, garlic, red 
peppers, stringy beefsteak which has not lost its animal 
heat, garbazos, frijoles, and half a dozen other kinds of 
beans, are too much entirely for a northern digestive ap- 
paratus, and one cannot live forever on coffee, bread, and 
soft-boiled eggs, which are the only elements of native 
diet not possessing distinctively southern flavors. 

Garlic is going out of fashion in a few alleged American 
caf^s, which is a relief to the nostrils and the sense of 
taste; a few months more will probably bring about 
Americanized meals. 

Puerto Rican soups are always fine and palatable, 
though they usually suggest garlic. 

Oranges can be bought two for a centavo, and are de- 
licious. Bananas are as low as five for a cent, and this 

67 



PUERTO RICO 

for the most approved style of " lady fingers " or little 
round fellows. 

Where a man has capital to invest, there are many 
lines of business upon which he may embark with a fair 
assurance of the return of his money with interest. 

Sugar-, coffee-, and tobacco-raising rank first, and will 
open the best avenues for investors of large capital. 
These three interests are treated in separate chapters. 

Fruit-growing is as yet undeveloped, but the island 
offers many possibilities and a rich field for investors, in 
that every kind of tropical fruit may be cultivated to its 
highest perfection in the rich, well-watered soil. 

Railroads and modern rapid-transit facilities are very 
much needed in the island. Don Ibo Bosch, in 1888, 
secured a franchise from the Spanish government to 
build and operate "a railroad which was to encircle the 
island. The corporation was to be known as the Com- 
pafiia de la Ferrocarriles de Puerto Rico. The road was 
to be finished in six years, and the government guaran- 
teed eight per cent, to the corporation on the capital 
invested, not to exceed $10,000,000. This road was 
promptly begun at three points. At the end of four 
years, or in 1892, a single-track, narrow-gauge road had 
been laid northward and eastward from San Juan to 
Carolina, by way of Rio Piedras — sixteen miles in all — and 
the grading had been partially completed to Rio Grande, 
ten miles farther, while from San Juan westward it was 
completed for forty-eight miles to the town of Camuy. 
At Aguadilla, it ran southward through Afiasco to Maya- 
guez, a distance of twenty-two miles. From Ponce, on 
the southern coast, it was built to Yauco — some twenty- 
four miles westward — making a total mileage of one hun- 
dred and ten of the two hundred and eighty-three 
contracted for. 

68 



INDUSTRIAL POSSIBILITIES 

The equipment of these fragments of badly-laid road 
would disgrace a logging or mining region in our north- 
west, so mean and primitive are the cars, and so poorly 
kept are the engines. It is not essential to discuss the 
defective methods existing in railroading in Puerto Rico 
^beyond stating that the service consists of one mixed 
train of two cars each way, in twenty-four hours, and that 
the average speed is ten miles an hour — as it is rather in- 
tended to point out future needs. The corporation before 
referred to did not complete the road, and made no at- 
tempt to do so, within the stipulated time, so the Spanish 
government revoked the franchise. A renewal of the 
charter was requested and refused, and, at the beginning 
of the war, the matter was still under discussion, being 
held in abeyance at Madrid. 

There are no other railroads on the island, except a 
tramway from San Juan to Rio Piedras, which parallels 
the other road that far; the equipment of this line is bad, 
but the service is comparatively good, as trains are run 
each way, on schedule time, an hour apart. 

There should be a great future in the island for lighter 
tramway systems — such as trolley lines, with trains of two 
or three cars, capable of making twenty miles an hour. 
It is not believed by the writer that, in this small area, 
there is, or ever will be, sufficient commercial inducement 
to warrant the construction of heavy road-beds, equipped 
with large engines and standard rolling-stock. The dis- 
tributing points for both imports and exports will lie 
around the periphery of the island, at the best water- 
fronts, and the railroad handling will always consist of 
very short hauls. Passenger traffic will be mainly of the 
same nature, from small inland towns to the port-towns 
and vice versa. 

The offsetting advantages of electric as against steam 

69 



PUERTO RICO 

roads lie in the possibility of more rapid and cheaper con- 
struction, over heavy grades, to the interior towns, which 
are large exporters of coffee and consumers of merchan- 
dise, and in being able to furnish light, heat, and power 
to many small towns along the routes. Apropos of this 
subject, it may be said that the scarcity of fuel is every- 
where felt, and, for this reason largely, charcoal — which 
is an economical and intense-heating medium — is used 
almost universally for cooking purposes. Instead of de- 
pending upon this fuel, the cook-stove of the future might 
be some form of electric heater. Also, it must not be 
forgotten that every coffee-planter is desirous of intro- 
ducing his own machinery, but is confined to the use of 
animal- and hand-driven mills, mainly, for the reason that 
steam-boilers requiring fuel are an unprofitable investment 
unless the operations are carried forward on an extensive 
scale. 

Owners of sugar-mills, which run day and night during 
the grinding season, would gladly welcome cheap electric 
light. For fuel, however, they depend largely on the 
cane-begasse which is burned under the boilers; and the 
feasibility of furnishing such mills with electric power, to 
replace their present batteries of boilers and engines, 
remains a matter for future determination. 

It is generally conceded today that electric transporta- 
tion is not profitable where the traffic is small, as the 
plant must be kept in nearly maximum operation. If, 
upon examination of the railroad problem, however, it 
is found that the maintenance of electrically-driven cars 
will not give a satisfactory return, for lack of continuous 
traffic, or sufficient current cannot be sold to make it 
profitable, then compressed air — which has long since 
passed the experimental stage — may be substituted, with a 
view to economically centralizing the generation of power. 



INDUSTRIAL POSSIBILITIES 

San Juan and Ponce have gas-plants, against the prod- 
uct of which the average American citizen would cry 
aloud. Gas, as an illuminant, is an antique in the pres- 
ent age, and it is doubtful whether it can be made 
to compete with electricity in a country where every 
pound of heavy piping must be imported from abroad, 
and where, for some time to come, there will be small 
objection made to overhead wiring. Heating-gas would 
subserve an excellent purpose, at present, in every town 
on the island, in place of the ancient charcoal kitchen- 
furnaces, which give off noxious and deadly vapors; but, 
as before suggested, some type of electric stove may be 
preferred to either. 

Railroad construction on the island offers many diffi- 
cult engineering problems, excepting, perhaps, in the 
case of roads which will skirt the littoral levels along the 
coast-line. The interior country is so broken with heavy 
and steep mountain-ranges, so devoid of extensive level 
valleys — where they do occur, they are flooded from time 
to time by freshets — that perforce it will be necessary to 
carry the contemplated roads around the multitudinous 
windings of the mountainsides. This being true, it means 
that almost every yard of road-bed must be blasted 
from the close, underlying limestone rock, and that, at 
every transverse rivulet which cuts a deep V-shape basin, 
it will be necessary to heavily grade and bridge. 

The east-and-west extension of the rugged mountain- 
ranges will strongly militate against trans-island roads, 
but the present location of interior commercial towns 
does not seem to demand-more than two such roads; one 
following the military highway from San Juan through 
Rio Piedras, Caguas, Cayey, Aybonito, Coamo, and 
Juana Diaz to Ponce (I understand that a charter has 
already been granted for such a road), and the other pos- 

71 



PUERTO RICO 

sibly from Ponce, or some harbor farther west — say Gua- 
nica — to Adjuntas, Utuado, and finally to the northern 
coast at Arecibo. Both routes would be through the 
very heart of the largest agricultural sections of the 
island. 

Ice-plants offer another inducement for the business 
man ; a few such plants, with limited facilities, are now 
in operation at San Juan, Ponce, Mayaguez, and Guay- 
ama, but the interior towns are sadly lacking in refriger- 
ants. In connection with such enterprises, there should 
be introduced cold-storage rooms for cooling and preserv- 
ing the beef, which is now killed in the morning and eaten 
before night. The household refrigerator is an almost 
unknown article, and, as a side line and persuader to the 
use of ice, it is very desirable. 

Cattle-raising has a bright future in this country, where 
the tall, succulent bunch-grass grows as high as one's 
head, and the cropping of hay is never required, since 
the rich, green food grows perennially. In 1895, only a 
little over 4,000 head of live cattle were exported from 
the island, which brought an average of $38 apiece. 
There are no statistics as to the home consumption of 
beef, and it is impossible to even approximate that con- 
sumption, when dealing with a people who are large 
meat-eaters among the well-to-do, and use little or none 
at all among the vast army of poverty-stricken peasants. 
Assuming that the annual exportation of hides, which 
amounts to about $11,000, represents one-fourth of the 
cattle slaughtered, the yearly consumption would be in 
the neighborhood of 50,000 head. 

The accredited great cattle region of the island, whose 
reputation is borne out by personal observation and the 
fallible testimony of the eye, is in the northeast section, 
a great district around Carolina and Rio Grande. The 

72 



INDUSTRIAL POSSIBILITIES 

rolling, low-lying hills, adjacent to the immense flat and 
fertile cane-bearing bottoms, are covered with grazing 
cattle. These animals are much like the famous long- 
horned cattle of Texas, but are far finer in appearance, 
and heavier, a condition brought about by the ease of 
grazing in fields where every step gives an abundance 
of nutritious food. The island of Vieques has been a 
large producer of beef-cattle for the main island, and each 
year many thousands are shipped to San Juan and other 
seaport towns, Santo Domingo and Haiti being also 
purchasers from this point. 

Raising cattle for market in Puerto Rico has no draw- 
backs like those known to our people in the United 
States — such as carrying them through the hard winters 
of the northern and eastern sections, and feeding them 
with hay and grain, or, as in the great southwest, suffer- 
ing from a shortage of pasture caused by biting blizzards, 
or the withering heats of summer when the grass be- 
comes crisp and brown. It is a paradise for cattle; 
plenty of food the year round, flowing water in every 
hollow, and never a need for housing. With the United 
States as a market, and free entry for cattle, there will be 
great inducement for money-makers in a land where hun- 
dreds of thousands of fine animals may be raised with a 
minimum amount of expense. The use of cold-storage 
plants in the island — already contemplated by some of 
our great beef -packers, with a view to introducing Ameri- 
can fresh meats — might, and probably will, be reversed, 
in a very few years, to handling an island product for the 
benefit of consumers in the United States. The high 
price of land may be cited as an argument against cattle- 
raising, but, within given areas on the island, many times 
more cattle may be grazed than in any portion of our 
own country, and, if Pennsylvania and New York farmers 

73 



PUERTO RICO 

can raise cattle with profit on lands valued, on an aver- 
age, at $200 an acre, their only advantage being near-by 
markets, certainly, in a region averaging $100 an acre and 
rejoicing in a superabundance of rich food, much profit 
must accrue to the investor. 

Dairy-farming is another opening which has a future, 
notwithstanding the attendant drawbacks of a hot cli- 
mate, no cold springs for cooling the milk, and ice at a 
premium. If entered into on a sufficiently large scale to 
warrant the installation of an ice-plant, the returns would 
leave a large margin of profit. As things are today, the 
cattle are milked but once in twenty-four hours — before 
daylight each morning. The warm milk must reach the 
consumer in a very few hours, or be lost by souring. The 
selling-price ranges from eight to twelve cents a quart. 
Cream is unknown, not because, as one of the army offi- 
cers put it, " This damn Puerto Rican milk is so poor 
that never a particle of cream can rise," but because it is 
never sufficiently cool for cream to rise. Canned butter 
sells for from 60 cents to $1 a pound, in two-, three-, and 
five-pound tins. This article, which delicate people 
should never have analyzed, was imported in 1895 to the 
extent of 365,000 pounds. 

Cheese — another of the by-products of the milk farm — 
is annually imported to the amount of a million and a 
quarter pounds. Also there is made on the island good, 
palatable, hand-pressed cheese, too white, too dry, and 
too tasteless for the average foreigner, but largely con- 
sumed by the natives. 

Dairies supplied with proper refrigerating facilities, 
near any of the larger towns, will be able to more than 
compete with the methods in vogue. Cream, fresh but- 
ter, and cheese would find a ready market at prices — for 
the present, at least — much higher than those of America. 

74 



INDUSTRIAL POSSIBILITIES 

Poultry culture, as it exists today, seems to consist 
mainly of breeding game fighting-cocks. Miserable little 
chickens of a pound and a half bring 50 cents each. Eggs 
are to be had in limited quantities, at sliding-scale prices 
ranging from 30 cents to 50 cents a dozen, determined 
largely by the age of the hen-fruit, which becomes pain- 
fully overripe in forty-eight hours. 

Fresh mutton is always in demand in the market, and 
it is an easy matter to keep sheep fat and in good condi- 
tion. Wool-growing would not be a success, unless hair- 
cloth becomes fashionable, as the imported lamb soon 
turns into a goat, judging by his bristling coat. 

Pork, to the amount of nearly 10,000,000 pounds, is 
annually imported by Puerto Rico, and is almost wholly 
purchased from the United States. The raising of hogs 
in large numbers would, however, be a doubtful experi- 
ment, owing to the high price of corn, though there is 
much mast in the mountain regions upon which they are 
said to grow fat ; the indigenous animal is an extremely 
poor specimen of the razor-back species. 

Corn is scarce and high-priced, and cannot be raised 
with much success on the northern half of the island, on 
account of the quantity of rain. The lands of the drier 
southern portions of the island are capable of producing 
very excellent corn, though, during exceptionally wet 
seasons, it is apt to mature badly and be injured by 
canker and must. The failure of corn-crops in certain 
years is made apparent by the variable importation of this 
grain, which sometimes rises as high as 20,000 bushels, 
and falls, in other years, to one-fourth this amount. This 
year (1898), the island crop is very promising, and, in the 
Yauco and Mayaguez districts, several thousand acres of 
this cereal wave ten feet high, usually bearing two large 
ears to the stalk. While the local price of corn is high, 

75 



PUERTO RICO 

ranging from 80 cents to 95 cents a bushel, it is not at all 
probable that, in the future with open markets, island 
corn can compete with the American product. The 
benefits, therefore, will accrue to American exporters of 
maize. 

It is said that cotton can be grown successfully on the 
island, and, in the past, the crop has been referred to in 
consular reports. The raw product, however, has not 
been able to compete with foreign-grown cottons, and the 
raising has fallen into desuetude. In view of the over- 
supply of this commodity in our own country and the 
prevailing low prices, there is no remunerative future 
promise from the growing of cotton in Puerto Rico. 

A mountain rice is grown quite extensively by the 
peons, and, at some points, by the larger landholders and 
planters, but it is usually considered inferior to the for- 
eign, lowland-grown rice. In 1895, over 74,000,000 
pounds, averaging a little more than three cents a pound, 
were brought into Puerto Rico. These figures indicate 
to what a large extent this cereal is consumed by the 
native population — being a little over eighty pounds per 
capita annually, not including the home product, which 
is consumed mainly by the poor people, and which would 
readily bring the consumption up to and over one hun- 
dred pounds. This remarkable quantity of rice is pur- 
chased principally from Great Britain, Germany, and 
Spain; the United States never having furnished more 
than 10,000 pounds in any one year during the last ten. 

It may be impossible, even with the cheap labor of this 
island, to compete with the cheaper Indian and Chinese 
rice, but one wonders, nevertheless, why sugar-cane 
planters, who have been running behind financially year 
by year on account of primitive machinery and the dis- 
astrously low price of sugar, do not attempt the cultiva- 

76 



INDUSTRIAL POSSIBILITIES 

tion of rice in lieu of sugar-cane. Many of the estates 
are admirably adapted to such a purpose, with irrigation 
ready at hand and sufficient in quantity. It would, at 
least, pay a considerable margin over the cost of cultiva- 
tion, and would be far preferable to the present custom 
of making muscovado sugar at a loss. 

Bay rum and the essential oil of the bay-tree, which 
grows luxuriantly on the island, bring an annual income 
of no mean proportions into the coffers of a number of 
men. Up to the present time, however, no systematic 
culture of this tree, which furnishes us with the delicious 
bath and tonsorial perfume, has been attempted. While 
this is now an industry of minor importance, there is no 
reason why it should not readily be expanded into a 
commercial enterprise of magnitude. The destructive 
distillation of the leaves in rum, and the extraction of 
the essential oil from the leaves, are both extremely sim- 
ple and require no extensive plant. 

Market-gardening for the cities is not apt to prove very 
remunerative in a region where every negro or mestizo, 
by stirring up the earth with a stick and planting seed, 
secures a tenfold return for his labor, and further where 
the primitive gardener is in the habit of trudging miles, 
on his own bare feet, with a few centavos' worth of prod- 
uce, which he sells in the market-place. Americanizing 
the island will mean a greater demand for a larger variety 
of fresh vegetables, and supplying the new population 
may offer inducements to a few men. Rich returns will 
accrue, however, only through the raising of agricultural 
products which may be exported. The rearing of fruits 
and vegetables, with the attendant industrial possibilities, 
will be treated in another chapter. 

Lumbering has no future in the island, as it has long 
since been on the wane. There are no extensive sections 

77 



PUERTO RICO 

covered with virgin forests ; here and there, on the rug- 
ged mountainsides in the eastern-central and western- 
central portions, a few hundred acres may be found 
clothed in heavy timber, but beyond these regions and 
scattered patches from which the best woods have been 
culled, no timber remains. The vast wildernesses of trees, 
which often mislead the unknowing into believing that 
forests abound, are usually the spindling guava- and 
mocha-tree coverings for rich coffee plantations beneath. 

There have been, and yet remain, many small areas of 
rare and fine woods, but, in the commercial sense of lum- 
bering, there are no business openings of any magnitude. 
The small, rare growths will be cut out, as the clearing 
of land for agricultural purposes proceeds, and will be 
sold abroad as the years go by, the larger, common tim- 
ber being used, as in the past, for the framing of local 
buildings. 

The balance of trade in lumber — excepting the types 
of rare woods — will be largely in favor of the United 
States, though, up to 1896, only an average of a million 
dollars' worth of wood and its manufactured products 
was shipped to Puerto Rico. At Lares, in the heart of 
the mountain region, lumber is worth $50 a thousand, 
and the cost of erecting frame houses and buildings, at 
this high price for building material, may readily be im- 
agined. There should be a great demand for cheap 
American lumber. 

Wood for fuel is becoming scarcer each year, and com- 
mands, delivered at the big sugar-mills in small ox-cart 
loads of about a third of a cord, the exorbitant price of 
a peso to a peso and a half, and this, too, for the roughest 
kind of firewood — crooked, with knots and knobs and 
much small stuff among it. 

Among the woods still found on the island may be 

78 



INDUSTRIAL POSSIBILITIES 

enumerated the "asoubo," which grows very large, is very 
hard, reddish in color, a little like mahogany, and is used 
for house-framing, principally; the "capa blanca," which 
grows large, is hard, fine-grained, white in color, and 
used for framing and furniture manufacture ; " capa prieta " 
is a beautiful wood, fine-grained, with black and white 
streaks, grows large and straight, rather rare now, and is 
desirable for export trade; " capa de sabana " is a soft 
wood, with a white ground having yellowish veins ; looks — 
by optical illusion — semi-transparent, when polished ; rare 
now, and used by the natives for the manufacture of 
beautiful canes ; " aceitillo " is another fine hard wood, of 
yellowish color, which makes good plow stuff, carriages, 
and framing; " cedro " (cedar) is found rather plentifully, 
and is used to a limited extent for cigar-boxes ; it is not, 
however, the fragrant species so common in Cuba, and is 
therefore less desirable, commanding a much lower price ; 
mahogany is found in small trees, but is not profitable, 
commercially ; it is used for making fine canes ; lignum- 
vita; occurs in some districts, in limited quantities, but 
the major portion of the best wood has long since been 
exported ; " tachuelo " is interesting for a hardness so ex- 
treme that a nail will not penetrate it, and for a weight 
which causes it to sink in water ; the ' ' ciera' ' or silk-cotton 
tree is one of the most imposing of tropical growths, 
rising to great heights, with far-outspreading branches, 
and with immense encircling ribs, which stand out like 
braces at its base. 

There are hundreds of other woods, many of them 
very beautiful with variegated colors, but not growing 
in sufBcient quantity to make the handling of them 
profitable. 

There are a number of small manufacturing projects 
which may be carried into effect by quick-witted men, 

79 



PUERTO RICO 

and, through them, a few men with small capital will 
undoubtedly make a beginning in this new territory. 
Straw-hat making and straw-plaiting offer opportunities, 
where rice-straw and a score of grasses and barks are 
abundant and adaptable to this end ; rope-making from 
vegetable fiber is another; tortoise-shell cutting still 
another; fan-making, cane manufacture, basket-weaving, 
and many others, dependent on the natural resources, 
will be found profitable in a small way. 

Manufacturing of any kind in Puerto Rico, for home 
consumption, will probably be profitable only when the 
raw material is found or grown on the island, as the want 
of mineral fuel — unless it is discovered later — will be a 
serious drawback. 

The United States, by reason of the abundant supply 
of cheap fuel, will be able to furnish Puerto Rico with all 
commodities, manufactured from raw materials not found 
on the island, at less cost than she can fabricate them 
herself, and it may even be discovered that many of the 
raw products of the island — where they are not perish- 
able — may be more economically enhanced in value in 
America. 

Whether Puerto Rico manufactures on a large scale or 
not in the future depends greatly upon what action Con- 
gress may take in determining the form of government 
for the island. With free-trade relations between the 
United States and her new possession, manufactories will 
be slow to develop ; on the other hand, high tariff will 
force her to increase the value of crude materials at home. 

Brick-, flagging-, and tile-making should prove good 
openings for capital. While every town of any importance 
has its brick-kiln, and some of the largest several, their 
fittings are crude and the machinery and methods in 
vogue very primitive. The pug-mill consists of a circu- 

80 



INDUSTRIAL POSSIBILITIES 

lar trench dug in the ground, some two and a half feet 
wide by two in depth. Around this excavation an or- 
dinary wheel travels — one from a cart usually serves the 
purpose — through which is thrust a long wooden pole, 
attached to a swivel-head in the center of the circle, 
which answers for both axle and draft-bar. A yoke of 
oxen on the outer periphery furnishes the motive power. 
Clay and water are thrown into the trench, and the wob- 
bling, revolving wheel does the pugging. The pugged 
clay is all molded into brick by hand, and often a form is 
not used, but the plastic clay is paddled into brick shape. 
Drying takes a long time, as the clay is worked very 
moist, and the atmosphere is usually damp. Burning is 
done with wood, in fairly good kilns of small dimensions. 
Good brick of this character brings $15 a thousand. 

From this meager outline of the process, it will be 
readily understood by brick-makers that, through the in- 
troduction of modern brick-making machinery — the dry- 
clay variety being preferable — far finer brick could be 
produced, and the present price could be almost halved, 
and yet leave a handsome profit to the investor. 

Roof-tiles are also made by hand, the proper curves 
being given over a wooden mold. The same brick- 
machine, with an additional die, is easily adapted to the 
manufacture of simple, curved roofing-tiles. 

The clays of the island are exceedingly fine for all pur- 
poses to which burnt clay is applied. There are many 
clays with only a small percentage of iron, which will 
burn light, but the majority of them are the iron-bearing 
kinds, which burn into bright reds. The texture and 
homogeneity of most of the clays cannot be surpassed, 
where a hard, firm, clear, ringing brick is desired. It is 
claimed that kaolin of fine quality appears in the western 
portions of the island, but, in view of the fact that there 

8. 



PUERTO RICO 

are several earths identical in appearance with kaolin, 
though totally different in chemical composition, this 
point must first be determined before being finally an- 
nounced ; there are, however, other clays well adapted 
to the manufacture of the heavier and coarser pottery- 
wares. 

Every small town in the island has its alleged hotel, 
and the larger cities have several, among them some very 
good abiding-places for the traveling public. Caf6s are 
found by scores and hundreds, in the cities, towns, and 
villages, as well as scattered along the highways and 
trails ; in fact, any house or hut bearing on a highway 
may be approached with perfect confidence that at least 
coffee, bread, and dulces are served for the benefit of the 
passer-by. 

From an American standpoint, however, there are no 
good hotels on the island of Puerto Rico. The rooms 
are meanly furnished, the beds are without mattresses, 
the victim sleeping on a blanket spread over wire springs 
so short that the head must be skilfully perched on the 
infantile pillow to keep it off the wooden cross-piece, 
while the heels rest on the bottom of the wooden frame 
in such a position as to cause one to feel as if he were 
sleeping with his feet on top of the mantelpiece. It re- 
quires months of practice to slumber easily, and not get 
up with a broken back. The partitions between the 
rooms are usually made of a single planking, and the 
next-door neighbor's midnight idiosyncrasies may be a 
source of entertainment, more painful than pleasant, to 
the insomniac. American hotels, run by Americans, will 
be hailed with delight by the army officers, and, in the 
large towns, the fear of lack of patronage need never be 
felt, as the English-speaking population is large and will 
rapidly increase. 

82 



INDUSTRIAL POSSIBILITIES 

The caf6s are fair; that is, in all the big centers, there 
are establishments where one can be reasonably well fed. 
They are so numerous, moreover, that few Americans 
will be able to sandwich in among them with much 
chance of a brilliant business success. 

For a winter resort, the climate of the island is every- 
thing that the aesthete, the tourist, or the invalid could 
desire. The balmy days and cool nights of January and 
February, the exquisite flowers and tropical verdure, the 
rolling mountains and the rushing brooks, all blend to 
charm the eye and the senses, and should, in a few years, 
make Puerto Rico a much-sought-after winter home for 
those who roam the earth in search of more genial tem- 
perature. Winter-resort hotels will, in every probability, 
be one of the successful financial ventures. There are 
many spots in the lovely mountain regions which offer 
sites of natural beauty, encompassed by natural wonders. 
One might suggest the great caves of Aguas Buenas, or 
those near San German, as desirable points, though there 
are many other places in this great limestone country 
where unexplored caves may turn out to be caverns rival- 
ing, in extent, those of America. 

Thermal, mineral, and medicinal springs occur in num- 
bers all over the island, the one of chief present impor- 
tance being two miles from Coamo, where the heated 
mineral water rushes out of the earth in great quantities. 
This has been a favorite resort of the island population 
for many years, and a fairly comfortable establishment 
exists. There are also mineral springs at Ponce and 
Caguas, which have been, to some extent, developed 
commercially, and there are a number of others scattered 
through the land, to whose curative properties enthusias- 
tic praise is given. 

The most serious hindrance to the immediate develop- 

83 



PUERTO RICO 

ment of winter resorts is the lack of roads. The great 
traveling public, excepting the brawny, danger-loving 
tourist, is not willing to be carried over wild mountain- 
trails, even to witness the most profound natural phe- 
nomena. The military road across the island is the only 
travel-route now feasible for the mass, and along this line 
certainly not over three fashionable resorts would prove 
profitable ; however, not many years will elapse without 
bringing to this land of sunshine and flowers its needed 
highways, and, with them, crowds of seekers after pleas- 
ure, comfort, and health. 

General merchandizing is held well in hand by Spanish 
and Puerto Rican storekeepers, and Americans will err if 
they assume that, as business men, they are more capable 
than their newly-acquired, dark-haired brethren ; for the 
Spanish tradesman is thoroughly clever and competent, 
usually well educated, polite to a fault, and eager to meet 
the wants of the incoming American population. Most 
of these men are well-to-do capitalists, and they have 
often carried on the same business in the family for gen- 
erations. It will be no easy task for shopkeeping Ameri- 
cans to compete with an element of this character, which 
controls all the native trade, and is capable of meeting all 
the exigencies of the new. 



CHAPTER IX 

COFFEE CULTURE 

COFFEE-RAISING ranks first as an industry in 
Puerto Rico, bringing wages into the pockets of 
thousands of earners, and substantial profits to the coffers 
of the plantation-owner and exporter. 

Beside the assured income from a well-planted coffee 
plantation, the life of the planter and owner has many 
desirable features which recommend it as an occupation 
to be followed by the American investor: First, coffee 
must needs be raised in the higher altitudes of the pic- 
turesque rolling hills, and on the faces of the steep, 
mountainous inclines which finish upward in sharp, zig- 
zagging, narrow ridges, thus giving him a healthful, cool 
place of residence, away from the hot lowlands and fever 
country of the coast. Second, in the hills and moun- 
tains, living springs for uncontaminated water-supply are 
found, and, at the worst, he has always at hand the 
cooler, frothing, dashing torrents of the rock-bound 
mountain streams, from which to draw crystalline water. 
Third, and perhaps most important, no great technical 
training is required to raise coffee successfully, as is the 
case in raising sugar or tobacco. Fourth, the life is an 
easier one for the proprietor — which is no small factor in 
a torrid zone, where excessive activity is sure to bring 
on fever in the case of the unacclimated — in that he 
travels in the shade of the forest which shelters his coffee- 

85 



PUERTO RICO 

trees from the hot sun, as he makes his overseeing tours, 
and works under cover, where the pulpy berry is changed 
into the finished and polished bean of commerce. 

Good coffee-land ranges in price from twenty to five 
hundred dollars an acre, depending upon location and the 
topography of the site, and again whether it be virgin 
soil, or in crop of varying age, the highest price being 
asked for five-year-old, full-bearing trees, near the great 
military highways, within easy-hauling distance of coast 
shipping-centers. 

It may be said that five hundred dollars is a fictitious 
value for any coffee plantation, and that the owner nam- 
ing such a price is usually a Spaniard, filled with a desire 
to return to Spain, but inwardly fearing, even in his dis- 
like of the American, that the new rule may mean un- 
paralleled progress in the island. Two hundred dollars 
an acre for well-grown trees, with adequate shade above 
them, has hitherto been considered a good round sum 
for a plantation, though as much as three hundred has 
been paid under Spanish domination. 

There is no favored section in the mountain districts 
where coffee grows to greater perfection, or with better 
flavor, on account of more fertile ground, and this asser- 
tion is made in the face of a prevailing opinion that the 
Yauco region, in the southwestern part of the island, 
grows the best coffee. * * Yauco' ' has become a trade name 
in France, so it is almost a universal practice to mark the 
higher-grade coffees with the word "Yauco," whether 
they come from the east, west, north, or south. 

The western end possesses some topographic and ship- 
ping advantages over other portions of the island, for, in 
a section running in a great arc around this district, the 
mountain country has more rounded foothills, and less 
angular and precipitous contours, thus making the work 

86 







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HAULING THE CROP OVER A HEAVY TRAIL 




PACK-TRAIN CARRYING COFFEE TO MARKET 



COFFEE CULTURE 

of planting and cropping easier, and also permitting ex- 
peditious gathering of the berry. The shipping advan- 
tages lie in that a fair military road connects all the coast 
towns, and that good harbors are not far away. Ponce is 
reached by rail from Yauco, and the deep-water and 
picturesque harbor of Guanica is not over six miles away. 
Ponce also has a military road leading up into the Ad- 
juntas country, which is almost solely devoted to coffee 
culture. There are the ports of Guayanilla to the east- 
ward of Guanica, Cabarajo on the lower western end of 
the island, Bramadero several miles to the north, and 
the large city and harbor of Mayaguez in the center of the 
western side. After Ponce, Mayaguez is the great coffee- 
shipping city of the island, and a large area of country to 
the eastward is tributary to this city. North of Maya- 
guez is Aguadilla, which exports a fair proportion of 
coffee ; and Arecibo, on the northern coast towards the 
west, receives nearly all the coffee grown in the Utuado 
district, as a good military road connects the two towns. 

The coffee country on the great military road across 
the island from San Juan to Ponce is just as rich, and on 
it are raised as prolific crops as in the western end of the 
island, but the region is rougher and the hauling is a 
large item of expense, reaching eight cents a pound where 
it is necessary to bring the product in by pack-mules over 
frightful trails to the military road, and then laboriously 
haul it in ox-carts to San Juan or Ponce. Electric rail- 
ways will relieve this burden of excessive tolls, which is 
now, in some places, so destructive to profits. 

The development of coffee-raising in the eastern half 
of the island has no doubt been retarded by lack of roads, 
less water, greater area of rough, rocky country, and no 
convenient harbors ; though there are many fine coffee 
plantations scattered through the mountains. 

87 



PUERTO RICO 

The clearing of virgin soil in Puerto Rico for cofTee- 
raising, or for any other purpose, represents much labor, 
but it is a far easier undertaking than in Cuba, where 
virgin land presents the densest of tropical jungles. In 
Puerto Rico there are few areas which have not been 
cultivated over and over again, during its three centuries 
of occupation, and the overlying vegetation consists, ex- 
cept in rare cases, of small trees and heavy undergrowth 
only, which, at a wage of fifty cents a day per laborer, 
may be economically cleared away and burned. The 
man who essays in this way, however, to create a coffee 
plantation de nuevo must be prepared financially to tide 
himself over four years of waiting for a remunerative crop 
of coffee, and to meet attendant expenses of cleaning, 
weeding, and the final introduction of coffee machinery. 

Here is a fair estimate of the cost to a man contem- 
plating the purchase of lOO acres of coffee-land and con- 
verting it into a paying investment : 

One hundred acres of land, with trail leading from it, not over 

twenty miles from coast harbor, at $40 an acre $4,000 

Clearing of land, preparing the soil, planting coffee-bean, platano, 

and guava-trees, at $30 an acre 3,000 

Weeding for four years, cutting out the platano, at $20 an acre. . 2,000 

Introduction of machinery 8,000 

Buildings, plain residence 2,500 

Coffee-houses 2,500 

Trail-building and repairs and ditches for water 500 

Incidentals 1,000 

Total *$23,500 

This represents an establishment with modern machin- 
ery, but plain buildings, boiler and engine, pulping 
machine, steam-drying drum, huller for second shell, 
polishing machine, classifier, blowers, bins for handling 
* Puerto Rican pesos. 

88 



COFFEE CULTURE 

and final sacking. The machinery, except the pulping 
machine, may be dispensed with, and the coffee-bean, in 
its last casing, dried in the sun on cement floors, or in flat, 
shallow boxes supported on rails to be run under cover; 
but the saving would not exceed five thousand dollars, 
and the expense of handling the coffee would be in- 
creased, while the marketable price would be greatly 
reduced, as it is necessarily sold to the coast merchant, 
who finally prepares it for market in his own mills. 

The returns for this outlay would, approximately, be 
as follows : 

Second year, coffee (5, ooo lbs.) at an average of 1 5 cents a pound, $750 

Third year, coffee (10,000 lbs.) at same price 1,500 

Fourth year, coffee (20,000 lbs.) at same price 3,000 

$5,250 

Cost of picking, at l^ cents a pound $525 

Cost of hulling and washing, at 2 cents 700 

Cost of easy transportation, at 2^ cents 875 

2,100 

Net returns at end of four years $3, 150 

At five years of age the plantation should be in full 
bearing, and by careful attention 500 to 1,000 pounds of 
coffee per acre can be raised in the following years, the 
decline in yield not being apparent until after the trees 
are twenty years old. Assuming that the average crop 
is 500 pounds to the acre, the annual output would be 
50,000 pounds, and, gauged by the present standard price, 
controlled by the French, Spanish, and German markets, 
of 15 cents a pound — though in the last few years it has 
been as high as 25 cents — the returns — after deducting 
the cost of handling, which in itself may be reduced by 
the introduction of greater transportation facilities — 
would yield a net income of $4,500 a year. 

It must be understood that 15 cents a pound represents 

89 



PUERTO RICO 

an average price to the grower of coffee for his entire 
crop, paid by the local exporters of coffee at the coast 
towns, and does not refer to the selling figures for the 
special classes of coffee supplied to the foreign market. 
This subject will be developed in the course of the rela- 
tion of the growing, handling, and exportation of coffee. 

Coffee, as it is raised today on the island, is planted 
with very little system. The bean is poked into the pre- 
pared land, and platano or banana slips are set up in 
the ground at intervals. The platano, making a full 
growth in each year, affords the first year's shade, which 
is absolutely necessary for the well-being of the young 
coffee-plants. Melango, known in England as tannia, 
a big lily with an edible root, is often used for this 
primary shading, particularly where the clearing of the 
ground is undertaken by a native laborer, who is granted 
the privilege, by the plantation -owner, of living on a plot 
of ground for two years and raising his subsistence, pro- 
vided he prepares the ground for coffee. 

With the planting of the platano, it is customary to 
plant small guava- and mocha-trees; the former are 
preferred, as they are speedy growers, and give the 
essential shade for years to follow in the life of the planta- 
tion. Both are slender, high shade-trees, branching out 
toward their tops into a fairly-dense covering of flutter- 
ing leaves, and they bear little fruit and lose few leaves 
during the year. 

As time passes, loose berries drop from the coffee- 
trees and sprout to form new plants. These are trans- 
planted when they interfere with the parent plant, and 
from them it is possible, in a few years, to secure a solid 
mass of coffee-trees, and to advance new areas each year, 
by transplanting under the shade of growing banana 
trees, which in themselves furnish a marketable food. 

90 



COFFEE CULTURE 

The flowering coffee-tree is a thing of beauty, with its 
myriads of white flowers clinging close to the slender, 
waving, nearly-vertical branches of the bush. The flow- 
ers give way to green berries, and the tree looks much 
like a nature's rosary, so closely do the green beads crowd 
one another. In the month of October the berries begin 
to ripen and get their rich red and glazed coloring, which 
foretells the coming of the picker. 

The commercial man perhaps does not care that the 
ragged, tattered pickers, large and small, father, mother, 
and a brood of partially-clothed children, make one of the 
most picturesque sights in this island of loveliness. In 
the early morning they trudge out from their little thatch- 
roofed huts, with home-made baskets slung on bands 
from their shoulders or balanced carelessly on their 
heads; straggling along the trails and roads, the little 
elfin children chasing each other in glee as they go to 
work. The bright-eyed, comely girl wishes you " Buenas 
dias " with half -timid, half-flirtatious smile, and the 
father and mother salute you with the deference born 
of generations of training. Later, from the depths of 
every thicket, comes the chant of singing voices, and 
the chorus is feminine, the woman of poverty, somehow, 
knowing how to be happier than the man. 

The little children gather all the low berries which may 
be reached by their tiny hands, while the grown-ups bend 
down the tall bushes and rapidly strip the fruit into 
their baskets. At dusk, from every side burdened figures 
struggle up the steep hillsides, to the winding trails, or 
ease themselves down, step by step, from the heights 
above. The men and women are carrying the berries 
now, sometimes laden down with a large basket on the 
head and smaller picking baskets swung around the 
body, while the sleepy, tired tots stumble along, with all 

91 



PUERTO RICO 

the brightness of life gone out, for that day, from their 
worn-out little souls. It is no uncommon sight to see a 
mother carrying a sleeping child, beside all her other load. 

Down at the plantation, the coffee-berries are weighed 
up or measured up and paid for, usually with mild protest 
from the lips of the picker, for it is the common practice 
to underweigh and underpay. A centavo more or less to 
these poor people means much. 

For a hundred pounds of berries $1.50 is an average 
price. A man can gather, in a heavily-fruited coffee 
plantation, an average of fifty pounds a day, and, with 
the addition of the earnings of the whole family, he be- 
comes quite opulent for the first few weeks, but as the 
berries grow thinner — for they must not be picked green, 
and they ripen at different times — the work grows more 
arduous and the daily wage less. 

All told, the native coffee-picker gets on an average not 
more than four months' paid work in the year, and this 
estimate includes his work of weeding and transplanting. 
Assuming his family to number five pickers — two grown 
people and three children — they perhaps pick an average 
of 100 pounds a day for eight weeks, and not more than 50 
pounds a day for the remaining four or five weeks. His 
annual income for his entire family, at this rate, could 
not possibly amount to more than $125 Spanish, includ- 
ing one month's labor in caring for the field. It is little 
wonder, then, that he and his family, on an average wage 
of $10 a month Spanish, have few clothes and live in 
plain thatched huts, anaemic and fever-stricken from fruit 
diet and no medicines. 

In consequence of this low wage, much stealing of 
coffee prevails, the spoils being exchanged or sold at the 
little stores along the roadsides. One sees everywhere, 
bordering the military highways, small mats with drying 

92 



COFFEE CULTURE 

coffee upon them, and while some of it is the legitimate 
raising of the present owners, most of it has been pilfered 
by the laborers. All this side-issue coffee is handled by 
hand; the berry is bereft of its pulp in crude wooden 
mortars with hand-pestles, and dried in the sun, the outer 
shell being removed by a similar beating process in the 
same vessel. It is said that this system of peculation 
prevails in all the large exporting coffee-houses, and, in 
consequence, every poor family whose members work in 
the big mills and houses is always prepared to serve the 
most delectable beverage which the highest-grade coffee 
Can produce. 

When the berries arrive at the plantation house, they 
are stored away in sacks or bins, and, as speedily as pos- 
sible, are put through the pulping machine, which removes 
the outer juicy meat from the two coffee-beans, which 
rest — with their flat sides together — within. This machine 
is extremely simple and is generally of local manufacture. 
A heavy wooden roll, eight or ten inches in diameter and 
two or three feet long, studded with round-headed nails, 
much like the bottom of a hobnail boot, is the principal 
element in the machine. Into a hopper above, the berries 
are poured, and come down through a narrow slit upon 
this moving roll, which is guarded by a steel-edge, ad- 
justable rule, just separated far enough from the hobnails 
to macerate the berry and release the beans. This prod- 
uct, pulp and beans, falls onto an inclined, shaking wire 
net, through which the beans pass by oscillation, while 
the pulp travels over its surface to a refuse pile. 

This finishes the handling of the coffee by machinery 
in most of the sun-drying establishments, though in the 
larger ones the entire work is done by mechanical means. 
Where the coffee is sun-dried, large, square cement floors 
are laid down on the open ground, with a slight dip for 

93 



PUERTO RICO 

drainage, or, elsewhere, shallow boxes on small flanged 
wheels are used, which travel on tram railways from 
exposed positions in the sun to cover, under the house 
or shed, at night and in time of rain. The cement- 
floor system represents much work, for the berries 
must be housed at night and in damp weather, and it 
is a common occurrence to see men frantically raking 
the coffee into bags and onto squares of burlap, in haste 
to get the valuable product under cover from a coming 
shower. 

At Lares, the entire public square is rented to one coffee- 
seller on week-days, that he may spread his coffee for 
drying, and every morning a hundred men file out with 
huge loads of coffee, tied in burlap sheets, on their heads, 
and begin the work of laying them open to nature's heat- 
rays. In this instance, it is all kept on the cloths, so that 
it may be quickly gotten under cover. It is an interest- 
ing operation to watch the deftly-trained men laying 
these cloths so that they overlap into one solid carpet of 
cloth, and following this maneuver up by spreading the 
coffee into a vast field an inch in depth. It takes from 
two weeks to thirty days to dry coffee well by this means, 
depending largely, of course, upon the weather. 

The greater percentage of raisers ship the coffee thus 
dried, and yet enveloped in a thin brittle shell, to the 
steam-mills on the coast. A few of them, however, have 
hulling-mills which remove this last coat and afterwards 
polish the bean. These mills are primitive in character, 
consisting of two great wedge-shaped wheels five feet in 
diameter and covered with tin, which chase each other 
round and round from opposite ends of a great axle, in a 
circular-walled and tinned trough two feet deep. The 
motive power is a yoke of oxen. The heavy wheels ride 
over the coffee and crush off the outer hull. It is then 

94 



COFFEE CULTURE 

placed in an ordinary fanning-mill, such as we use for 
cleaning wheat or other cereals, and the dust and light 
hulls are blown out. It is passed back to the big rolls, 
and a small quantity of blued water — a quart to a hun- 
dred pounds — is poured into the runway, the wheels going 
round and round until every individual berry is polished 
till it shines and possesses the blue tint so prized in 
French markets. One coffee-burnisher of this character, 
at Cayey, run by steam, polishes and blues i6,0CX) pounds 
of coffee each day. 

When the mountain coffee-growers have their crop of 
berries ready for the market, pack-trains of the sturdy 
little mules (not burros) pour in from the pasture-lands 
along the coast, under the charge of expert packers. 
Everywhere over the tortuous, precipitous, muddy moun- 
tain-trails, one finds, in November and December, long, 
snaky lines of these muscular little animals crawling care- 
fully along narrow, rocky paths, or floundering through 
niud-holes belly-deep, laden with such huge packs as 
would put our government mules to shame. From the 
tolls of this pack-animal business many men make a com- 
fortable or even comparatively sumptuous living. 

On the alleged passable highways two-wheeled ox-carts 
are used, and it is a common sight to see four and five 
yoke of these lumbering animals, lurching and straining 
in the plastic muds, in an almost vain attempt to start 
five hundredweight of coffee on its impeded journey. 

Where the work is done entirely by machinery, the wet 
beans may be run directly into the steam drier, though 
it is the usual custom to spread the mass out under cover 
for a few days until it loses its first water. The driers are 
of two types; a huge rotating cylinder filled with iron 
pipes through which hot steam circulates, or the more 
usual kind containing hot air sucked from the fire under 

95 



PUERTO RICO 

the boilers and blown into the turning cylinder, where it 
escapes through close-meshed wire doors. From the drier 
the coffee is dropped into bins, carried to the top of the 
building by travelers, and deposited in bins. It then passes 
into the huller, which is of American make — outside of 
the pulper and the polisher, most of the coffee machinery 
comes from the United States, — where the hulls fly off, 
after slight crushing by fast-moving teeth. It is then 
polished and blued as described, and finally passes to the 
classifier, a cylindrical framework six feet long, wound 
with piano cord, in four sections, each set of wires being 
more open than the preceding. Inside this wire-work, a 
fixed-screw shovel moves the coffee along, and, accord- 
ing to size, it falls through into different compartments 
beneath. 

No machine-method has been invented by which de- 
fective and marked beans may be separated from their 
better brethren, so hand labor has still to be expended 
on this part of the work. The hand-picking of coffee is 
again one of the picturesque phases of the coffee indus- 
try, as it is carried on by women and girls. In the poorer 
establishments they sit on the floor with a lapful of cof- 
fee, and, one by one, throw out the bad beans, shoving 
the lapful of good coffee finally into a bag at their feet. 
In the big marts on the seacoast, picking-tables are sup- 
plied, from whose compartmented boxes dangle bags 
connected to the table by open spouts. The girls work 
rapidly and deftly. Some woman in the corner starts a 
church chant, which is taken up by one after another, 
until the whole room is singing; then this is changed to 
a wild native love-song, and, through the stronger voices 
of the grown ones, sounds the weak treble of little chil- 
dren, that one wishes might be out in God's air, instead 
of stooped day after day, thin and white, over their 

96 



COFFEE CULTURE 

tables, their baby fingers flashing back and forth as they 
seize the discolored beans, piping amorous songs while 
their unmatured bodies grow round-shouldered, and their 
eyes lustrous only in fever. Bagging, labeling, and ship- 
ping follow. 

Four grades of coffee are handled ; as has been said 
before, geographical position is not an index to quality 
or flavor. The prime coffee is the male bean, which 
grows alone in a berry-pod. The shape is ovoid, instead 
of having one flat side, like the double bean. There is 
but five per cent, of this coffee, and it has brought a price 
at the wharves, in years gone by, ranging from twenty to 
thirty-five cents, the average being above twenty-five 
cents silver. The second coffee is the largest of the flat- 
sided beans, and is a very fine coffee. Its price has 
ranged between fifteen and twenty-five cents. The third 
coffee is a good bean, but smaller than number two, with 
a price of thirteen to eighteen cents. The fourth coffee 
is usually the irregular-shaped, small bean, with more or 
less discolored coffee intermixed. Its price ranges be- 
tween six and twelve cents silver, depending upon how 
many bad beans have been thrown in. This coffee is 
very fair, measured by American cheap-coffee standards, 
and it is hoped by Puertoriqueftos that it will compete 
with the grades of Rio so extensively consumed in our 
country. 

55,000,000 lbs. a year seems to be a conservative 

estimate of the amount of coffee exported from the 

island in 1897, though the amount may fall somewhat 

this year (1898). Of this amount. Ponce ships from her 

seaboard nearly 25,000,000 lbs., Mayaguez between 10,- 

000,000 and 15,000,000 lbs., and the rest goes from the 

ports of Arecibo, Aguadilla, San Juan, Guayama, and 

Guanica. 
7 

97 



PUERTO RICO 

Yauco district raises 8,000,000 lbs. 

Lares " 5,000,000 " 

Adjuntas " 6,000,000 " 

Utuado " 6,000,000 " 

Las Marias " 5,000,000 " 

Mayaguez " 4,000,000 ' ' 

Cayey " 500,000 ' ' 

Aybonito " 500,000 ' ' 

Total 35 ,000,000 ' ' 

The other 20,000,000 lbs. is scattered over the island. 
It is not to be understood that these figures represent 
accurate statistics; they are merely an average of esti- 
mates given by various coffee-planters and shippers. 

It may confidently be stated that the coffee industry is 
in its infancy in Puerto Rico, as compared to its possibil- 
ities under the progressive management of American capi- 
talists. Not more than 100,000 acres are under cultivation, 
and the methods in vogue for handling the crop are very 
primitive. With American energy, proper machinery, 
and accessible electric transportation, there can be no 
doubt that Puerto Rico holds out the promise of becom- 
ing one of the leading coffee-producers of high-grade 
coffee in the world; the topography, soil, physical con- 
ditions, and climate favor an immense production of this 
one of the world's needs. 

The quality of Puerto Rican coffee is held in high 
esteem in France, Germany, Italy, Austria, and Spain. 
France has always been the heaviest purchaser of high- 
grade coffee, Spain the largest buyer of the poor grades. 
Cuba, in some years, has been a heavier purchaser even 
than the foreign countries. In the United States, hither- 
to, this coffee has not been sold, except in small quanti- 
ties, as our coffee-buyers will not handle the commodity 
at the high prices asked and received abroad. In flavor, 
it is as fine as our best mixtures of old government Java 

98 



COFFEE CULTURE 

and Mocha; it has less of the pungent acridity of the 
Mocha, and is stronger than the Java. The half-way 
point reached between these two coffees makes a cup of 
Puerto Rican coffee a beverage of fine aroma and most 
delicate flavor. It should, as fads go, become the coffee 
of the future in America. 

The progressive growth of the coffee industry during a 
century in Puerto Rico may be illustrated by the follow- 
ing table, though it should not be assumed that these 
figures are more than approximate statistics, for Spain 
and Spanish provinces have always been, in a marked 
degree, weak in accurate statistical reports: 



Date. 



Lbs. 



Value. 



Rate. 



1783 
1803 
1832 

1834 
1851 
1887 

1893 
1896 



1,126,225 
294,784 

2,800,000 
11,596,500 
12,111,900 
25,102,000 
44,612,000 
58,780,000 



$33,600 



3,415,666 
11,297,723 
13,379,000 



13.6c. 

25c. 

22.7c. 



The 1783 estimate is undoubtedly a guess made by De 
la Torre, author of " Cuba and Porto Rico," 1861, as 
there were no tabulated statistics of imports and exports 
of the island until the year 1803, and his figures for 1834 
and 185 1 are hardly to be credited, in that the careful 
writer Flinter (" State of Puerto Rico," 1834) gives but 
one-fifth the amount of the other author, for a coffee-crop 
two years earlier (1832). Flinter states, however, as his 
belief, that the official returns represent but one-half the 
actual quantity raised. The figures for 1887 and 1893 are 
taken from the English consular reports of the island, 
and are reliable. The returns of the 1896 crop are from 

99 



PUERTO RICO 

the exhaustive report of the Department of Agriculture, 
by Frank H. Hitchcock. 

The discrepancy or apparent increase of the later over 
the earlier selling-price, ranging from an average of 12c. 
per lb. in 1832 to 25c. in 1893 and a little less in 1896, is 
probably to be accounted for by the constantly-augment- 
ing depreciation of the silver currency of the island, which 
difference the consular agents have failed to consider. 
The Spanish official returns of the exports of Puerto Rico 
are reckoned in the island currency and not upon a gold 
basis. A material increase in the selling-price of coffee 
per pound would naturally follow, however, for, by the 
introduction from year to year of coffee-handling machin- 
ery, the quality of the marketable bean has been much 
enhanced, and the old methods of selling the bean for 
foreign exportation in its second hull and in an unclassi- 
fied condition have wholly given way to modern methods, 
which place a carefully-classified, highly-polished, and 
blued coffee in foreign marts, where money is paid for fine 
appearance as well as flavor. 



CHAPTER X 



SUGAR CULTURE 



A GENERAL impression seems to prevail that sugar- 
cane raising and the manufacturing of the products 
from cane — sugar, molasses, and rum — form the chief in- 
dustry of Puerto Rico. This is an erroneous idea, for, 
while the products, measured by avoirdupois, do greatly 
exceed those of all other industries, if gauged by money 
valuation, they rank second in importance; coffee being 
first, with a crop worth over three times the sugar output. 
The growth of the sugar industry, from the beginning 
of the century, is told in the following table, though it 
.should be remarked that twenty years earlier — or in 1783 
— the annual amount of sugar grown was quite as large; 
there was a profound stagnation in island industries, how- 
ever, between the years 1776 and 181 1. 



1803 


Sugar 


263,200 lbs. at 6 c, $15,792 


exported. 


I8IO 


Sugar 


3,796,900 " 6 c, $227,814 
4,000,000 " 

7,796,900 lbs. total raised. 


exported. 

home consumption. 


1828 


Sugar 
Molasses 


19,788,600 lbs. at 4 c, $791,544 
7,000,000 " 6 c., 420,000 
2,245,044 " 2 c, 44,900 

29,033,644 lbs. $1,256,444 


exported. 

home consumption. 

exported. 



lOI 



PUERTO RICO 



1838 


Sugar 


" 


Molasses 


1847 


Sugar 
Molasses 


1853 


Sugar 


" 


Molasses 


1887 


Sugar 


" 


Molasses 


1896 


Sugar 




Molasses 



69,138,500 lbs. at 4 

8,000,000 " 6 

19,619,458 " 2 



96,757,958 lbs 

104,178,200 lbs. at 4 c, 
26,922,126 " 2 c, 

131,100,326 lbs. 

115,666,200 lbs. at 3>^c., 
11,000,000 " 6 c, 
28,510,872 " 2 c, 

155,177,072 lbs. 

180,974,080 lbs. at 2.8 c, 
16,000,000 " 5 c., 
55,210,880 " ij^c, 

252,184,960 lbs. 

122,946,335 lbs. at 2.9c., 
16,000,000 " 6 c, 
32,221,619 " l)4c., 

171,167,954 lbs. 



$2,765,540 
480,000 
392.389 

$3,637,929 

$4,167,128 
538,442 

$4,705,570 

^,038, 317 

660,000 

570,217 

$5,268,534 

3.041,444 
900,000 
978,163 

3,919,607 

3,603,852 
960,000 
493,638 

3,057,490 



exported. 

home consumption. 

exported. 



exported, 
exported. 



exported. 

home consumption. 

exported. 



exported. 

home consumption. 



exported. 

home consumption. 



It will be noted that, from 1803 to 1887, there was a 
constant increase in the weight of sugar exported, and it 
may be said that during the next ten years, or up to the 
present time, a marked decline took place in the sugar 
industry, the crop of 1896 being about two-thirds that of 
a decade earlier. 

The money value of the crop, however, has not, for fifty 
years, kept pace in ratio with the constantly-increasing 
acreage and output of marketable sugar. In 1847 the 
export sugars, at the then-prevailing high price of the 
commodity, sold for a sum within a million dollars of 
the high-water crop of 1887, though 77,000,000 more 
pounds of sugar were exported, or an increase of yy ^ in 
the total crop over the year 1847, with a gain of but 20 ^ 
in money value. There are so many confusing factors to 

102 



SUGAR CULTURE 

/ 
be taken into consideration, in an attempt to compare the 
past with the present condition of the sugar industry, and 
so few statistics in which confidence may be placed, that it 
is an almost hopeless task to attempt to prepare a critical 
analysis. The principal elements to be taken into con- 
sideration are: 

1. Fertility of soil, which returned, sixty years ago, 
nearly double the crop of today. 

2. Methods of cultivation, cutting, and transporting 
cane from fields, all of which have made giant strides, in 
some sections, over the primitive ways of the past. 

3. Difference in machinery; modern machinery re- 
turning over thirty per cent, more sugar than in 1847. 

4. Manufacture of by-products, rum and alcohol, 
which are produced very cheaply today, and with con- 
siderable profit. 

5. Scale of wages; free labor in the forties received 
twenty-five cents a day and board, while today sixty-two 
cents Puerto Rican silver, or about forty cents gold, and 
no board is paid. Slave labor, of which there was never 
over fifteen per cent., cost as much as free labor, in hous- 
ing, clothing, etc. 

6. Cost of transportation to seaports, which has been 
materially reduced in sections with contiguous military 
roads. 

7. Cost of fuel, which has more than doubled in price 
in forty years, but has decreased in quantity required by 
over one-half, through the introduction of better methods 
of firing, use of begasse for fuel, and use of vacuum pans 
and tubular boilers. 

In 1847 it was possible to raise from 3,500 pounds of 
sugar per acre on the poorest lands, to as much as 8,000 
to 9,000 pounds on the best; this was accomplished with 
little resting of the soil, and, further, the ratoons sprang 

103 



PUERTO RICO 

up from the cropped cane for six or seven years in suc- 
cession. Today little land on the island proper ever gives 
more than 4,000 pounds of sugar, and the average is near 
the ton mark; the cane grows from the ratoons but four 
or five years, and then lands must be rested for several 
years before replanting. The island of Vieques may be 
noted as an exception to this rule, and its productive 
lands yet return immense yields of cane, the fields not re- 
quiring replanting under six or seven years ; but excessive 
and prolonged drouths occur now and then. 

The modern methods of cultivation are greatly ad- 
vanced over the earlier ones, through the almost total 
disappearance of the primitive single-stick plow and one 
yoke of oxen, which have given place to modern, heavy 
breaking plows (not gang-plows) with three to four yoke 
of oxen to each. The fields are carefully prepared for 
planting, though fertilizing is not indulged in, as it is said 
— with mistaken ideas of economy — that it would not be 
profitable. 

The cane is still cut by hand, as no machine can do it, 
but the picturesque ox-cart, which sinks deep into the 
soft earth of the fields, has given way to steel tramways 
and cars, on the great estates, as a means of transporting 
cane to the mill, while, on one estate at least, whole trains 
are drawn by small steam-engines. This has much re- 
duced the cost of labor, and insures expeditious move- 
ment of the cut cane to the crushers. 

The machinery used before the forties consisted prin- 
cipally of wooden single- and double-roll crushers, driven 
by bullock power, open kettles for boiling, wooden vats 
for crystallizing out the second sugar, and dripping-rooms 
in which hogsheads of crude sugar, set on huge beams, 
were drained of their surplus molasses. Steam-engines 
for motive power and iron crushing-rolls were introduced 

104 









>' «Cf 



SUGAR-CANE FIELDS AT VIEQUES, OR CRAB, ISLAND 
One and Two Years' Growth 



SUGAR CULTURE 

in the forties, but the open-kettle and -pan boiling gave 
way very slowly to the modern process of vacuum 
pans, " triple effects," and centrifugals, and even to this 
day the industry is seriously handicapped by the con- 
tinued use of antiquated machinery. Most mills boast 
of a vacuum pan and centrifugals, but, in the majority, 
the juice-boiling is still done in the open air, which ne- 
cessitates a wasteful use of fuel and a finished sugar little 
above the old muscovado in quality. 

There are but two central factories in all Puerto Rico 
which have really modern machinery, consisting of tubu- 
lar boilers heated with begasse, fed automatically from 
carriers, double crushers with triple rolls, clarifiers and 
eliminators, triple effects, vacuum pans, mixers, centrif- 
ugals, sugar-carriers, bagging bins, and all the auxiliary 
vats and transferrers for making third and fourth sugars 
from the molasses. It may be said that most mills are a 
heterogeneous combination of old and new machinery in 
a rhost incongruous fashion, and that, in consequence, the 
mechanical equilibrium of the process is so easily upset 
that often one portion of the mill must close down, to 
wait upon some slow, weak link. The result of these un- 
scientific methods has been to close down, permanently, 
mill after mill in the last ten years, since the price of 
sugar has been low, as it cannot be manufactured with 
profit without the most skilled handling. 

The by-products, rum and alcohol, are manufactured 
at every big central factory, and furnish no inconsiderable 
return in the sugar-making business. It is almost impos- 
sible to estimate the annual production of rum on the 
island, for, as there are no internal-revenue taxes on the 
quantity manufactured, it is never returned as a portion 
of governmental statistics. The consumption of this 
fiery liquor is almost entirely confined to the native popu- 

105 



PUERTO RICO 

lation, though some thousands of gallons are exported 
each year to Spain. Newly-made rum sells as low as 
twenty-five cents a gallon. The profitable side of mo- 
lasses distillation will be found to lie in the manufacture 
of alcohol. 

In regard to wages, the writer feels it may safely be 
said that labor is cheaper today in Puerto Rico than fifty 
years ago, when free men received twenty-five cents a 
day and board; for, with the depreciated value of the 
island silver, the best laborers do not get over thirty to 
forty cents a day gold, and must board themselves, while 
the sugar-planter receives an equivalent in gold, at the 
seaboard, for his crop. A fact which prospective invest- 
ors in Puerto Rican sugar-estates must not lose sight of, 
is that financial legislation by our government for the 
island will place the silver used in the future on a gold 
basis, but it is not at all likely that the wage of the 
laborer will be any less, as measured in cents per day, this 
wage being now fifty to sixty-two cents of the present 
depreciated silver. If this is true — and all history of 
national financial fluctuations bears out the assertion — 
the wages for labor will be materially appreciated, as 
computed by the employer and charged against his 
profits. This promises to be one of the most serious 
obstacles in the way of profitable sugar culture in Puerto 
Rico, if not in all of our new possessions, unless the price 
of sugar shall advance. 

All contracts for sugar from foreign buyers contem- 
plate a delivery at the water-front of one of the great sea- 
port towns, in bags or hogsheads, and the transportation 
of the sugar from the factory to the wharf is no small 
item of expense, amounting, in one instance known to the 
writer — from Carolina to San Juan, sixteen miles by ox- 
carts — to twenty-five cents Puerto Rican silver per bag 

io6 







PRIMITIVE METHOD OF REMOVING THE " BAGASSE ' 




OLD SINGLE-STICK PLOUGH 



SUGAR CULTURE 

of two hundred and fifty pounds. Where railroads may 
be used, the transportation charges are materially re- 
duced, but the tariff is exceedingly high, compared with 
American freight rates, and the carrier binds himself in 
no way to the safe delivery of the freight. The factor 
of transportation is one to be carefully considered by 
capitalists intending to invest in agricultural enterprises. 

The scarcity of fuel has become a bugbear of monstrous 
proportions to sugar-makers, as the island has been al- 
most denuded of wood ; no mineral fuel has yet been 
discovered, and foreign coal is very costly. A small ox- 
cart load of very poor fuel wood, certainly not half a cord, 
costs, in most sections, a dollar and fifty cents a load. 
Begasse (the refuse cane) is used everywhere as a part of 
the fuel, but, where muscovado sugar-making still pre- 
vails, the proportion of wood consumed is at least seventy 
per cent, of the total amount of fuel, and it is only in the 
most modern establishments, where begasse is employed 
under forced draught for heating tubular boilers, that the 
ruinous wood bill is materially reduced. 

Sugar-making on a gigantic scale is one of the deeply 
interesting industries of the world, and in Puerto Rico it 
is particularly fascinating to the observer, in that he can, 
while traveling over the island, follow the evolution of 
the industry objectively. The old wooden crusher, with 
its two upright, creaking rolls — driven round and round 
by slowly-plodding oxen, who snatch, now and again, a 
mouthful of the sweet cane — may be seen in operation in 
some of the out-of-the-way places. The juice is boiled, 
perhaps, in a single kettle, frailly housed from the weather 
by palm thatch, and the bubbling liquid seems almost to 
dance to the rhythmic strumming of the primitive guitar, 
in the hands of the native watcher. The little nude, 
round-bellied piccaninnies sit in circles and stare with 

107 



PUERTO RICO 

wide-eyed approbation and contentment at the operation, 
while they munch huge mouthfuls of cane, and lather 
their faces with the sweet juice, or cement more firmly 
the kinky hair to their pates. Sugar for home consump- 
tion only is made at these extremely primitive mills, and 
it is doubtful whether the return is at all commensurate 
with the labor involved. 

The next visible stepping-stone in the industry is shown 
in the scores of small mills, built fifty, sixty, and seventy 
years ago, which dot the valleys of the sugar districts. 
Many of them have been abandoned, and the majority 
are slowly passing away in dry rot, as the poverty- 
stricken owners cannot afford to operate them, and have 
either let their fields grow up in a wild luxuriance of 
weeds — as in portions of the Mayaguez district — or are 
cultivators of cane alone, for which they are paid, in a 
certain proportion of sugar, by the great central factories 
with their better machinery. 

A few of the little mills are still operated, and turn 
out the lowest grades of muscovado sugar. The crushers 
are double rolls, driven by ancient condensing-engines of 
marine type, or by undershot water-wheels. The juice 
is boiled in batteries of circular, round-bottomed, cast- 
iron kettles, cemented and bricked in over a fireplace, 
in a single row. The juice is slowly heated in the first 
one farthest from the heat, and crystallized into sugar in 
the last directly over the hottest fire, where the thicken- 
ing syrup rages like a tempest-tost sea, in foaming, sput- 
tering ebullition. The molasses is drained from the 
semi-crystalline mass in wooden bins, and the remaining 
sugar, of very poor quality, packed in hogsheads or burlap 
bags. 

At a conservative estimate, not more than seven per 
cent, of the lowest quahty of sugar is returned from the 

io8 



SUGAR CULTURE 

canes, even when the first molasses is painstakingly con- 
verted into a second sugar. It is today utterly impos- 
sible to operate such a plant without constant loss to its 
owners, and one wonders at the almost asinine persistence 
with which some of the Spanish estate-holders continue 
the practice of making crude sugars by cruder methods, 
which each year involves them deeper in debt. The only 
explanation ever offered the writer was that the govern- 
ment had put an almost prohibitory tariff on modern 
machinery ; it is true that American machinery was dis- 
criminated against in such a way that its introduction 
into Puerto Rico, by an unfortunate estate-owner, meant 
the doubling or tripling of its original price, by a subtle 
system of shuffling classification, which would lead the 
owner to believe that, unawares, he had imported a gold 
mine instead of simply a gold brick. Incidentally let me 
say that most of these unfortunate agriculturists hail 
with delight a bonding of the island's interests with those 
of the United States, in the firm belief that it means for 
them financial salvation. 

During the last thirty years, what is known as the 
" central factory " system has arisen, the buildings being 
owned by capitalists, who may or may not own the cane- 
lands. The outlying landowners send their cane to 
these mills to be converted into sugar, and receive for it 
four and five per cent, of the weight of the cane in sugar. 
It is not usual for them, however, to receive the actual 
sugar, but rather the value of such proportion, at the 
ruling market price. The writer will later give fairly ac- 
curate figures of the cost of raising cane per acre, and 
placing it at the mill. It has been difficult, even under 
this system which places the burden of expense upon the 
mill-owners, for the agriculturist to even up, and it has 
been a common practice for mill-men to advance money 

109 



PUERTO RICO 

to the farmer for the necessary cultivating machinery and 
expense of cropping, charging him 12 ^ interest, and tak- 
ing, as security, a mortgage on his property. The result 
is most likely the same the world over — the mill-men 
each year add to their landed domain, and then sublet 
such properties on shares, perhaps to the scion of a once- 
powerful family. 

Up to within ten years, or before the pressure and 
competition of beet-sugar "Were severely felt, it was pos- 
sible for central factories, making as low as eight per 
cent, of sugar, to secure a fair rate of interest on the 
capital invested, but since that time, with sugar falling 
several times as low as $2.20 per hundredweight, only 
factories which possess the facilities and machinery for 
producing ten or eleven per cent, of sugar, and which 
have contributory cane-lands to furnish them with at 
least fifty million pounds of cane annually, can be run 
profitably. 

One of the best-equipped central factories in Puerto 
Rico, which produced, in 1897, 6,500,000 pounds of first, 
second, and third sugars, made a net profit for the year of 
$19,500 on a capital investment of $800,000, or a little 
less than three per cent. This factory is capable of mak- 
ing 13,000,000 pounds of sugar a year, but has contribu- 
tory to it but 2,000 acres of cane-lands, which can supply 
only about half the required amount, and hence it is 
forced to shut down, from time to time, during the grind- 
ing season. It costs the mill almost an even $18 per 
ton, or nine mills a pound, to make the sugar which sold, 
on an average, at a little below two and four-tenths cents a 
pound in 1897. The cane-raiser's five per cent, commis- 
sion gives him half the sugar made, leaving, as a profit to 
the mill-man, three mills per pound. If this mill could 
be run up to its full capacity, the expense of operating 

no 



SUGAR CULTURE 

would be so lessened as to easily afford four mills' profit 
per pound of sugar, and an easy return of seven per cent, 
on the total capitalization. 

This particular illustration has been drawn with a view 
to pointing out that, while the sugar industry of the 
whole island is in an apparently precarious condition, in 
point of fact a thoroughly equipped establishment with 
suflficient cane territory, and the whole properly man- 
aged, will give, to the investor of large capital, an ade- 
quate return. But the factors which are today ruining the 
sugar-mill owners, of Puerto Rico at least, are antiquated 
mills and insufficient cane to keep them in operation. 
The promise of a successful future lies in more profound 
centralization of the industry, and there are now a number 
of sections on the island where single valleys of twenty 
to thirty thousand acres might easily be made contribu- 
tory to a single factory; sections which, if necessary, 
might readily be irrigated from the constant and fast- 
flowing waters which course the center of the valleys. 

Approximate cost of cultivating an acre of cane-land : 

Plowing, first $2 50 

Plowing, second 2 00 

Plowing, third i 50 

Planting cane-tops 

Draining and ditching 

Weeding, first 

Weeding, second 

Weeding, third 

Weeding, fourth 

Thieving (pulling leaves from cane and laying in the 

rows to keep grass from springing up) 

Cutting cane and loading on cars 

Total cost per acre $40 00 

III 



|6 00 




8 00 




4 00 


$18 00 




$6 00 




4 00 




2 50 




I 50 


14 00 






2 00 




6 00 



PUERTO RICO 

. These figures are only approximate, based on wages of 
sixty-two and seventy-five cents per diem, and on con- 
tract jobs let to field bosses. 

The expenses of the succeeding years, when the ratoons 
are springing up from the roots, are much less, not usually 
exceeding $20, but it should be remembered that the 
annual crop is becoming lighter, until a time arrives — 
after three or four years on poor lands, and four to six on 
rich bottoms — when the land must be rested or reset. 

In years following the first one it is usual to " line up " 
the " trash " or leaves, in the drainage ditches, and 
" break bank" by plowing; that is, to plow down the 
ridge between the rows, which covers the trash with 
earth and creates a new drain, or reverses the topography 
of the field. 



Bank 




CROSS-SECTION OF BANKS AND DRAINS. 
Dotted lines indicate method of breaking bank. 

The diagram will give an understanding of the opera- 
tion. Only one plowing is required, and the weeding 
does not exceed $10 in cost. 

The plowing, weeding, and cane-cutting may be let out 
by contract to native Puertoriqueflos who make a busi- 
ness of handling cane for estate-owners. The price per 
acre for plowing, weeding, etc., has been given, but it 
may be said that the cutting and loading are usually paid 
for at the rate of two cents a hundred pounds of cane, so 
the amount is variable, depending upon the size of the 
crop. 

112 



SUGAR CULTURE 

The expense — to the cane-grower — of moving his crop 
to the sugar-mill falls heavy or light upon him, depending 
upon long or short hauls ; whether it is necessary for him 
to transport the crop in ox-carts to the mills, or only a 
short distance to steel tramways owned by the central 
factory. It is an expense of sufficient importance in 
short years to materially reduce his revenue. 

There are still many small valleys in Puerto Rico, where 
the rivers annually overflow, leaving behind, at the reces- 
sion of the waters, a rich fertilizing silt where forty thou- 
sand pounds of cane may be raised per acre, and there 
are handsome stories of nearly double that amount in 
places. Good rich land will average thirty thousand 
pounds of cane or three thousand pounds of sugar per acre. 
Assuming this to be a big average, and the cane-raiser 
to receive one-half the value of this amount as his share, 
at the ruling price of 2.4 cents his gross receipts would 
be $36 per acre, as against liabilities of $40 an acre in 
planting his crop, a loss of $4 per acre. During the next 
four years his ratoon crops would run down from 3,000 to 
2,000 pounds per acre, making his crop average 2,500 
pounds to the acre, or his share in cost $30 per acre. 
Losing $4 an acre the first year, and netting $10 per acre 
the succeeding four years, leaves him an average annual 
profit of a little over $7 per acre. 

Cane-lands range from $50 to $100 an acre in price, the 
latter figure representing rich lands. 

This summing up appears, on its face, to be a fairly- 
pleasing exposition of how the landowner may net seven 
per cent, or more on his investment, but it is very doubt- 
ful if the figure for crops herein given will, year after 
year, reach the estimate. One estate raising over five 
million pounds of sugar is said to have averaged 3,600 
pounds per acre, but many of the cane-lands of the island 

8 

113 



PUERTO RICO 

have been utterly worn out by generations of contract 
cultivators, and, in the writer's opinion, 2,000 pounds of 
sugar per acre would represent a nearer figure to the truth 
than a larger one. 

It should be pointed out very forcibly, however, to 
sugar-cane growers in the United States, that even today, 
after decades of cane-growing in Puerto Rico, on lands 
which have never known the taste of fertilizers, and whose 
readily-accessible streams have never been diverted to 
irrigate a soil which blossoms under a drop of water, 
they do average, per acre, double the crop of the United 
States, and further that the cane throws up its ratoons 
for at least four years, instead of being planted annually. 

There must be a remunerative future in Puerto Rico for 
just such men as have struggled for a hundred years, in 
Louisiana, to rear sugar-cane in an artificial environment. 
The climate is no more difficult to live in, and, with 
northern methods of cultivation pursued in the island, 
with Puerto Rico recognized as a portion of our country, 
and with duties removed, the prospects of making for- 
tunes are exceedingly flattering. 

It has been suggested that Puerto Rico's chances as a 
factor in the sugar market would be small if she competed 
with Cuba and the Philippines. The only argument 
which can be legitimately advanced to confirm this state- 
ment is the one of difference in price of labor, for, under 
similar methods of cultivation, the islands differ little in 
average crop. 



CHAPTER XI 

TOBACCO CULTURE 

MORE tobacco was exported from Puerto Rico in 
1828, by nearly two hundred thousand pounds, 
than in 1896, and in 1846 there were shipped abroad 
6,693,900 pounds, or over three times the amount ex- 
ported in 1896. For seventy years the amount of to- 
bacco exported has been surprisingly uniform, usually 
between the two- and three-million-pound mark, with 
now and then a year like 1846, which blossomed into 
promise of a future for tobacco, when the crop has 
doubled or trebled that of preceding years. These in- 
creases have been sporadic and far apart, being accounted 
for usually by shortage of Cuban crops. 

It is exceedingly difificult to find a solution for the non- 
progressiveness of this commodity, which is grown so well 
and so easily on the island ; the explanation lies possibly 
in several directions : First, the rapid increase of tobacco 
culture in Cuba, and the world-wide attention called to a 
particularly fine leaf — grown only in a very restricted area, 
however — which soon made Havana tobacco famous. 
It was not until the forties that Cuba rapidly strode ahead 
of Puerto Rico in her annual exportations, and since then 
the latter has been completely eclipsed, if not almost for- 
gotten, in tobacco-raising. Second, in the early days, as 
well as today, the peasant almost exclusively raised the 
entire crop on the island, in meager patches of from a 

115 



PUERTO RICO 

quarter of an acre to several acres, mortgaging his crop 
beforehand to the shopkeepers and petty dealers. The 
landed proprietors and capitalists, with curious conserva- 
tism, chose to risk their all in sugar and coffee, prefer- 
ably buying their manufactured tobacco from the expert 
cigar-makers of Cuba and the Peninsula, rather than 
fostering and promoting the poor home industry. Hence 
in all time — excepting possibly the last few years — the 
manufactured products of tobacco in Puerto Rico have 
been execrable, the work unskilled and slovenly, while 
the leaf itself has been raised by careless hands, eaten by 
insects, badly cured, and improperly packed. 

The increasing demand for Havana tobacco has ex- 
cluded Puerto Rico from the foreign tobacco marts, and 
the premium set on Cuban-grown tobacco has been so 
great that not only have her entire crops sold at high 
figures, but, to meet the growing commercial preferment, 
she has for decades imported the bulk of the Puerto 
Rican raising, branding it with that magic word, " Ha- 
vana." Spain has been the second great buyer, the 
heaviest in quantity but not in quality ; in fact between 
them they absorbed the tobacco-crop, leaving a few hun- 
dred thousand pounds in some years for Germany, and a 
few thousands for Italy and France. 

The United States smokes its Puerto Rican tobacco 
through Havana; it is more expensive, but the label in- 
creases the flavor some fifty per cent. Only in excep- 
tional years, during Cuba's struggle for liberty, and the 
concomitant restriction and destruction of her tobacco, 
have we imported any from Puerto Rico, and then only 
to the amount of a few thousand pounds. We have re- 
turned to the island, in manufactured tobacco, many 
times the value of her exports to us. 

Cuban tobacco-growers would probably insist that the 

ii6 




GIRLS STRIPPING THE LEAF-TOBACCO 



TOBACCO CULTURE 

suggestions advanced are not vital in retarding the to- 
bacco industry, and that the real explanation Hes in the 
poorer quality of the tobacco grown in Puerto Rico. 
However, with a leaf as fine today as Havana's, Puerto 
Rico could not compete, until her reputation had been 
much advanced, and solidly built up. 

They do not grow as good tobacco on the little island 
as on the greater. That they can grow it, there can be 
no doubt. The soil and the climate both favor this as- 
sertion, but until such time as careful methods of cultiva- 
tion, handling, curing, and manufacturing shall prevail, 
and the growing be done on large estates, in a scientific 
manner, the quality of the tobacco will be lower, and the 
surplus product necessarily be controlled and sold at a 
low price set by the consumers. 

The change of island ownership will, perforce, cause 
the current of the crop — both raw and manufactured — to 
set towards America's shores, and, if our government 
legislates for open markets, a sharp impetus will be given 
to the manufacture of cigars, cigarettes, and smoking to- 
bacco on the island, which will redound to the financial 
benefit of its people. As an argument in favor of such a 
course, it may be said that it is generally conceded that 
finer cigars may be manufactured in the humid atmos- 
phere of the tropics than in more northern, drier regions, 
where much of the pristine flavor and aroma is lost. 

Spain has, in the aggregate, been much the heaviest 
purchaser of Puerto Rican tobacco, but, in years that the 
Cuban crop has been small, Cuba has purchased every- 
thing in sight, and the Spanish sales have fallen off, as 
illustrated in the second part of the table on next page. 

The apparent rise and fall in the size of the island to- 
bacco-crop, as illustrated in the following table, does 
not, in the writer's estimation, indicate any great excess 

117 



PUERTO RICO 

or decrease in the acreage planted ; neither does it point 
to a failure, in certain years, of the crop, as the average 
exportation for many consecutive years is rather uniformly 
low. The answer is found in the fact that, in years 
where there is exceptional demand for the tobacco, almost 
the entire crop is sold abroad, and in the years of small 
demand the surplus is largely consumed at home. 

The following table may be of interest, showing the 
exportation of tobacco from 1828 to 1896, giving some 
maximum and minimum years: 



Amount. 



Total Value. 



Price per Pound. 



1828 
1842 
1847 
1852 

1853 
1887 
1894 



Pounds. 

2,396,500 
6,693,900 
2,270,600 
5,807,000 
2,099,500 
6,924,000 
3,369,616 
2,219,907 



$1,125,770 
619,474 
408,110 



15.7c. 

iBc. 
i8c. 



Exported to Foreign Countries 





1894. 


1895. 




Pounds. 

2,378,573 
580,256 
410,787 


Value. 
$437,280 
106,675 
75,519 


Pounds. 

1,375,751 

2,160,347 

128,953 


Value. 
$252,920 
397.161 
23,706 




Other countries 






Total 


3,369,616 


$619,474 


3,665,051 


$673,787 







There are no statistics by which one may arrive at any 
conclusion as to the annual quantity of tobacco raised, 
but island tobacco-dealers estimate the crop at from eight 
to twelve million pounds, and a few somewhat higher. 
As the use of tobacco is almost universal, the local con- 

118 



TOBACCO CULTURE 

sumption of the five to eight million pounds' gross weight, 
which would remain after deducting the average export, 
by a population of a million, is not excessively high. 

On the crowning, round-knobbed crests of the lesser 
hills, and surrounded by the guava-trees or bananas which 
screen them from the wind, little patches of close-growing 
tobacco, sprouted from the seed, may be seen almost 
anywhere on the island, during the months from July to 
November. It is here, in these primitive hotbeds which 
catch the first and last rays of a summer sun, that the life 
of the coming tobacco-plant germinates. 

Early in November the great green hills which reach 
far up toward the sky, overrun by creeping vines and the 
general luxuriance of plant life run wild, slowly bare 
themselves to somber brown under the laborious attacks 
of groups of ragged, white-clad peasants, armed with 
broad-edged hoes. It is a pretty sight for the traveler 
who may pass across the land, over the great military 
highway — this agricultural panorama, stretched out per- 
haps so far from him that the landscape becomes a map, 
with manikins in white, mere specks moving on the 
earth. 'Way over there across a rare, deep valley is a 
charging army in a thin and straggling line; behind them 
down the steep slope is clean, bare soil, sprinkled with 
little rubbish bonfires, whose white smoke curls upward 
in the lazy air, while in front of them is the barricade of 
green, eaten away foot after foot by the heavy hoe and 
gleaming machete. The sharp-edged height is their 
objective point. 

On the opposite side of the hill another army of work- 
ers creeps up to the same objective, and, when they meet 
on the mafiana, possibly there will be a war of cigarettes, 
for the clearing of the field is done, and it is ready for 
the planting of the baby tobacco. 

119 



PUERTO RICO 

The great tobacco-field is of rare occurrence, and found 
nowhere except in the Cayey district, on the military road, 
which holds the prestige for high-grade leaf, of fine color, 
softness, fragrance, and combustibility. The greater 
part of the tobacco is still grown by the peasants in little 
patches. At Cayey, however, in the last few years, a 
number of energetic men have gone in for tobacco culture 
on a large scale, and the prompt return in richer tobacco, 
handled yet too primitively, pays a tribute to the possi- 
bilities of the soil, and promises an immense future for 
the backers. 

The land, before planting, is made soft and mellow, and 
drawn into high ridges with gutters or drains between. 
Each young plant is set two feet away from its neighbor, 
and the youngsters which die under the galling sun are 
replaced by vigorous ones, until the entire field is alive 
with growing plants. 

The best lands are considered by some to be those of 
the low-lying foothills, near the narrow valley levels,- and 
beneath, and protected by, the more rugged mountain- 
ranges, but there is a very limited amount of such land, 
made by the disintegration of the massive limestones and 
fertilized by the decaying vegetable matter of the upper 
slopes; consequently the higher ridges are resorted to 
and cultivated to their very tops. Where the growing 
tobacco is fairly protected from constant winds and se- 
cures plenty of warm sunshine, the matured plant returns 
a beautiful leaf, and the differences which exist between 
the top and bottom of ridges are marked in the varying 
quality of the tobacco; that at the top being a rougher, 
darker leaf, while that at the base is thin and good for 
wrapper. 

By March, or the middle of that month, the tobacco is 
ready for its first cutting. Before this time arrives there 

1 20 



TOBACCO CULTURE 

has been much work done on a tobacco-field. Weeds 
must never be allowed to spring up ; the leaves of the 
growing plants must be examined for the eggs of cut- 
worms, and the pests themselves, which must be killed 
promptly ; the budding flower-stalks must be cut off so 
that the leaves will grow larger, and the small, defective 
leaves are often taken away for the benefit of the plant. 
It is for lack of this constant care that so much black, 
spotted, thick-leaved tobacco appears in the markets of 
Puerto Rico. The lower leaves of the ripening plant are 
first taken when they begin to get their yellow color; 
following this are two other pickings, and sometimes a 
third, until the plant is stripped bare. The first leaves 
are usually the finest, thinnest, and of the best color, 
being used for cigar wrappers principally, while the last 
are small, thick, and rough, and serve only for filler or 
cigarettes. 

The weakest side of tobacco culture on the island 
manifests itself in the methods pursued in drying. Long, 
low, open sheds, on the hillsides and in the fields them- 
selves, serve for this purpose, being built lengthwise down- 
hill, in many instances, that the air may draw through 
them like a chimney. These buildings are a very inade- 
quate shelter from the weather, and much tobacco — which 
might otherwise be good — is allowed to deteriorate by a 
drying process through prolonged periods of time, de- 
pendent upon the sequences of dry periods in a climate 
of prevailing moisture. Artificial heat will probably be 
found in the future to be the only safe and perfect 
method by which fine leaf may be dried in this constantly- 
humid atmosphere. 

Forty days is considered the proper length of time to 
cure the tobacco, and, as many planters follow this rule 
without regard to what the weather may have been dur- 

121 



PUERTO RICO 

ing the interim, there is a marked difference from year 
to year in the quality of the tobacco grown by the same 
man. At the end of this time it is placed in huge piles 
and allowed to " sweat," which process gives the leaf its 
final color and makes it soft and pliant. 

The growers of tobacco all carelessly bale their product 
in burlaps, and one never sees the careful handling of fine 
tobacco so prevalent in the western province of Cuba. 

The price of good tobacco-land ranges from fifty to 
one hundred dollars Spanish, though the contemplative 
purchaser, unless he be exceedingly diplomatic, will be 
asked a much higher price at the first conference. 

Field laborers can be had in numbers for fifty centavos 
a day. Some of the large growers are in the habit of 
giving their field hands, during the clearing and planting 
season, besides this amount of money, two very frugal 
meals a day. 

There are representative tobacco-buyers and -exporters 
in all the large coast towns, the more prominent being 
in San Juan, Ponce, and Mayaguez, in the order named. 

Only a small percentage of the tobacco exported is 
manufactured, as pointed out; Havana and Spain, in the 
past, have been the principal purchasers, and in both 
these countries the leaf is made into cigars and cigarettes 
at home; the Cuban importation finding its way ulti- 
mately to the United States as Havana cigars, which are 
sold at a lower price than locally-grown Havana leaf; 
while in Spain it is known as Puerto Rican tobacco, and 
used as such, though even there the prejudice in favor of 
Havana tobacco causes many manufacturers to disguise it 
with the mystic name. 

Rich Puertoriqueflos in the past largely imported their 
fine cigars and cigarettes from Cuba, but within recent 
years, since the introduction of more skilful cigar-makers 

122 



TOBACCO CULTURE 

and cigarette-machines, this practice has been almost dis- 
continued, and today the native tobacco connoisseur is 
not only satisfied with his home product, but will assure 
you that quite as fine tobacco can be raised and just 
as perfect cigars made on the island as in Cuba. 

This will not voice the sentiment of the casual visitor 
to the island, for the vast bulk of the cigars which are 
sold to and consumed by the native population are vile 
in the extreme ; however, they are correspondingly low 
in price; the cheapest — green, badly hand-rolled, and 
wrapped with heavy, coarse black tobacco — sell as low as 
fifty cents American a hundred, and range from this up- 
ward to the ordinary cigar used by the average clerk and 
shopkeeper, which brings a dollar and a half to two and a 
half a hundred. Really good cigars — though too green 
and strong for the American taste — sell for three to five 
dollars a hundred, American money. These last-named 
cigars, when given time to age and dry, would sell readily 
in the United States for two for a quarter and five for a 
dollar. They are well made, burn perfectly with a clear 
white ash, and are pleasing in color and fragrance. 

There is a very limited output of yet finer cigars, selling 
as high as twelve dollars a hundred at the manufactory. 
These are made with the utmost care from the rare, fine 
leaf and wrapped singly in tinfoil. It is doubtful if any 
Havana-grown tobacco can greatly exceed this particular 
brand. 

The centralization of employees in tobacco factories is 
practically unknown. There are, perhaps, all told, half 
a dozen houses which might be dignified by the title of 
tobacco factories, but the major portion of the manufac- 
turing is done in the homes of the laborers, who carry 
the leaf to their shanties, do the work, and return the 
finished product to the owner. This system is open to 

1^3 



PUERTO RICO 

serious condemnation, as the homes of the laborers are 
usually in an extremely unsanitary condition. It is no 
uncommon sight to see a man seated at a bench in a 
house of a single room, rolling cigars from a stock which 
lies on the dirty floor beside him, while his houseful of 
children tumble over each other in youthful abandon, or 
idly stir the green scum of stagnant pools before the 
door, and then, in all innocence, trample a few million 
bacteria into the tobacco with their pattering bare feet. 

Another universal habit which tends to make a man 
swear off is the final licking given to the drawing-end of 
the cigar, between the moist lips of the workman. It is 
a detestable — nay, an almost vicious — operation, when 
one stops to consider that among these people lurks a 
loathsome hereditary disease, which may be readily trans- 
mitted to the smoker by the use of this infected cigar. 
This practice should be stopped by stringent legislation, 
as it was in some of our own states years ago. 

At Cayey, where the best cigars are made, are clustered 
a number of establishments, but none of them employ 
more than a dozen men, and the largest output from a 
single place is about three thousand cigars a day. Every 
cigar is hand-made, the mold being unknown in the island. 
Each man selects his filler and binder, cuts his wrapper, 
and makes a complete cigar. There are very few really 
skilful cigar-makers, though in one factory in Cayey a few 
clever men make a great variety of shapes, and those of 
the most approved form. 

The classifying and assorting of cigars by color is very 
defective, and a source of irritation to the buyer, as a 
box marked " claro " may have all shades packed within 
it from the lightest to the " oscuro " ; it has also militated 
against securing a permanent and high-priced market. 
During the past few years more attention has been paid 

124 



TOBACCO CULTURE 

to this side of the business, and a few men are turning 
out a fairly uniform cigar. 

Wages are very low; the " head selecters " and shop 
bosses receive from $1.25 to $1.75 per day; good cigar- 
makers, $i.(X); strippers — who are usually girls — about 
$1.00 per hundredweight; and learners receive their 
clothes and board, and poor board at that. 

San Juan has a cigarette factory which turns out a hun- 
dred and twenty-five thousand cigarettes a day, eighty 
thousand being the output from the most approved of 
American machinery, and the remainder from old-fash- 
ioned machines which roll from single papers and crimp 
in the ends, instead of the modern method of a continu- 
ous paper-band feed and chopper. They make three 
varieties of cigarettes, two of white paper — one ready for 
smoking and the other requiring to be rerolled — and the 
third with a licorice-stained paper covering, which is very 
sweet and pleasant. The tobaccos used are usually the 
cheapest, smallest leaf called " boliche," which is also 
used in the first class of filler. There are some higher 
grades of cigarettes which contain a better leaf mixed 
with the poor grade. 

It may be said in favor of Puerto Rican cigarettes that 
an unflavored, pure tobacco is used, which, while it does 
not satisfy the average American cigarette-user, pleases a 
cigar-smoker. Their worst faults lie in the use of too 
heavy a paper, which imparts its fumes in burning, and in 
loose rolling. With a thin paper and less draft, cigarettes 
made from these tropical tobaccos would find a ready sale 
and win reputation in the United States. 

Home-made, molasses-soaked plug tobacco, in ropes a 
hundred feet long, is one of the primitive wonders of the 
island. On any market day one may see the tobacco man 
with his little table piled up with bad cigars — black as 

125 



PUERTO RICO 

your hat, so green that you may wring water from them, 
and so cheap that a silver dollar will buy out his stock in 
trade, — but the objects which catch the eye are the cylin- 
ders, eighteen inches high by six in breadth, made up — 
you would swear — from bights of hawsers soaked in tar, 
but in reality chewing tobacco. Try it once and quit. 
A tobacco-chewing Jacky from Georgia, with a day ashore 
at Ponce, volunteered the information : " Yes, suh, that 's 
the most pow'ful stuff I ever stowed in my wisdom teeth. 
Yes, suh, that 's right." I agreed with him. 

Smoking is almost universal in Puerto Rico, the cigar 
and the cigarette being alternated by most natives with- 
out any apparent preference. The better classes of the 
women seem never to use tobacco in any form, and to 
one accustomed to seeing the dainty fingers of Mexican 
sefioritas hold lighted cigarettes, after the black coffee is 
served, something seems to be lacking in the familiar 
ensemble of tropical home-life. 

The peasant woman dearly loves her black cigar, and a 
sight which arouses risibility is the common one of a huge, 
black aunty rolling down the center of a street, burdened 
with head-balanced load heavy enough for a horse, placidly 
smoking an inky cigar of able proportions, whose clouds 
of smoke enshroud her head, and waft into her contented, 
half-closed eyes. Envy her; she has only half enough to 
eat, but is rich in the soothing of nectar nicotine. 

It may interest the tobacco man to know that the island 
tobacco is graded at present into the following classes 
(valuations are in Puerto Rican silver) : 

1st class, wrapper superior, worth $ioo per lOO pounds. 

2d " wrapper inferior, $80 to $95. 

3d " wrapper and filler superior (this distinction is made because one- 
half the leaf is good for wrapper, while the other half is used 
for filler), $70 to $80. 

126 



TOBACCO CULTURE 

4th class, wrapper and filler inferior, $50 to $70. 

5th ' ' filler superior, $40 to $50. 

6th " filler inferior, $20 to $40. 

7th " filler, $12 to $20. 

8th " boliche (worst filler), $5 to $12 (and used largely for cigarettes). 

This careful grading is never done by the grower, how- 
ever, who simply gets a lump sum for his crop, but by 
the exporter, and it may be said further that this is not 
done as skilfully as in Cuba. The high-grade wrappers 
are beautiful in color, soft in texture, and thin as paper, 
and they are, in the opinion of the island experts, quite 
as fine as any raised in the far-famed Vuelta-Abajo dis- 
trict of Cuba. 

There is, apparently, a very bright future in Puerto Rico 
for tobacco-raising and -manufacturing, but it will be re- 
stricted by the impossibility of great expansion in any 
direction on an island already so densely populated, and 
by the possibility that only certain sections will prove 
suitable for tobacco culture. 



CHAPTER XII 

FRUIT-RAISING, MARKET-GARDENING, AND 
FLORICULTURE 

IT is when the writer comes to descriptions of the fertile 
possibilities of fruits, which bud and blossom and 
ripen to sweet maturity, and market produce which re- 
turns a hundredfold the work of man, in one, two, and 
sometimes even four crops a year, and of the vast flora 
of beautiful shrubs, of gorgeous foliage and flowering 
plants, which dazzle the eye by mazes of odd rich forms 
and colors, and overpower the senses with subtle per- 
fumes, that he is inclined to rhapsodize over beautiful, 
tropical Puerto Rico and call it, truly, a promised land. 

It is in the early springtime of March, April, and May 
that the little island becomes one glorious flowering mass ; 
such a wilderness of gay blossoms that even the wonder- 
ful green settings of new and bursting leaves are smothered 
beneath the glorious tints of flowers, which dance with 
delight in the pink of early sunrise, bedecked with scintil- 
lating, dewy jewels, or go to sleep at the close of day, 
under a fiery, cloud-flecked sky and overarched with 
wondrous misty rainbows which seem to have caught 
their color from the very earth itself. It is a region of 
languorous dreamland, where the oppressions of life and 
the struggle for existence fade away as some past night- 
mare, and, if it were not for the high shrill voice some- 
where outside the sacred garden wall, monotonously 

128 



FRUIT-RAISING 

crying " Pescado! vendo pescado! " as its owner trudges 
through dirty streets, one might feel that at last he had 
reached the land of the eternal Fountain of Youth. 

It is small wonder that the early Spanish explorers, 
who were, beyond their inbred cunning, craftiness, and 
martial desires, imbued with a profound sentimentality 
and love for nature, should have induged in wild rodo- 
montades regarding this new world. With a heart warmed 
by tropical sun, and under the deft spell thrown around 
the senses by aromatic odors and exquisite blending of 
color, even the stolid Briton might have been unbalanced 
in his cold mental poise, and made to believe that just 
before him, somewhere in this ideal land, were the waters 
of everlasting life, or if not that, at least it must hold out 
the promise of gold which glitters — the material panacea 
for human misery. 

While the spring months rollick in the greatest wanton- 
ness and profusion of bloom, to the tourist there seems 
to be no period of the year when the landscape is not an 
immense flower garden, for most of the wild plants blos- 
som and go through the stages of fruitage several times a 
year, and the cultivated fruits, vegetables, and flowers are 
planted in successive intervals of time, so that matured 
products may be had the whole year through. 

The Floridian orange- and lemon-grower, who has strug- 
gled against the perversities of his sandy soil, where his 
carefully-prepared fertilizers straightway proceed to enjoy 
the society of subterranean fossils rather than to give re- 
newed life to his tenderly-husbanded trees, and where 
the climate is all gentle zephyrs one day and a black 
frost the next, would do well to move to this country of 
vegetal luxuriance, where fine sweet oranges will grow 
well in the dense thickets, in spite of choking and entwin- 
ing vines and overarching shade-trees. 

129 



PUERTO RICO 

The same advice applies to the fruit-grower of arid 
southern California, who, by constant irrigation and by 
the sweat of his brow, raises his crops from the sandy 
soil, creating, upon the desert, spots of green loveliness, 
and securing in return, it is true, an exuberance of fine 
fruit. 

The same amount of capital and energy, however, ex- 
pended in Puerto Rico, would insure twice the crop of 
the Floridian and fully as great if not a greater one than 
the Californian can raise on his artificially-prepared 
ground. 

With Puerto Rico as an integral part of the United 
States — and there is every promise that it will come into 
close relationship with us long before those hotbeds of 
revolution, Cuba and the Philippines — there is no doubt 
that it will literally become the fruit and vegetable gar- 
den of this country. Almost every known tropical and 
semi-tropical fruit can be grown to its highest perfec- 
tion there, and many of the growths of temperate climes 
find the soil congenial. A northern man fails to compre- 
hend the meaning of the word " fruit " until such time as 
he has lived on this lovely island and tasted, each day for a 
year, some new edible creation of nature. The descrip- 
tions of flowers and odors fail me, as there are no adequate 
comparative terms or sensations in which they can be ex- 
pressed. They are sour or sweet, savory or insipid, pun- 
gent or mawkish, fragrant or malodorous, and all degrees 
between, but, above all, with an individuality in each 
and every fruit which should debar one from remarking 
that it is, in taste, a near approach to others. 

It is quite the habit of the native population to speak 
of the western province of the island as the fruit-raising 
region. From a commercial standpoint — that is, in the 
sense of supplying large markets with fruit — there exists 

130 



FRUIT-RAISING 

but a meager industry in Puerto Rico. At Mayaguez, 
which is looked upon as the export center for small fruits 
and vegetables, there were shipped in 1898, principally 
to the United States, some six or eight million oranges, 
which brought an average of $4.50 a thousand; a million 
and a half cocoanuts at $25 a thousand; and fifty thou- 
sand pineapples at $2 a dozen (money in Puerto Rican 
silver). These figures sum up, practically, the foreign 
fruit-trade done by an island which, area for area, is 
capable of producing much larger crops than any portion 
of the United States. 

It seems astounding that bananas, plantains, yams, 
sweet potatoes, and half a hundred more fruits and vege- 
tables which would find favor in our country, have never 
been exported, to any extent. 

Plantains and bananas form the principal food-products 
of the island, and exceed many times, in quantity and 
weight, all other food-stuffs combined. There are no 
statistics bearing on this point which are more than mere 
conjecture, but it may be safely said that the diet of the 
peasants, who number ninety per cent, of the population, 
is mainly these two nourishing fruits. 

To the eyes of the novice, the banana and plantain 
are alike in fruit, though there is a difference in the vein- 
ing of the leaves and the shape of the fruit. The plan- 
tain is almost tasteless and mawkish when green, and is 
not fit for food until baked over a hot fire. 

There are no less than eight varieties of banana which 
are indigenous and grow wild. They are known under 
colloquial names relating to their form and color, and 
range in size from the giant triangular-shaped yellow 
banana, some eight or ten inches long, down to a tiny 
variety with cylindrical barrel and rounded ends, known 
as ' * lady-fingers. ' ' There are two varieties of the red ba- 

131 



PUERTO RICO 

nana, which are not considered by the natives to be par- 
ticularly good, but which command high prices in our 
country. The large yellow varieties have a fine flavor 
and penetrating fragrance, but the little ones, with a 
slight, delicate aroma, are considered the most palatable. 

Flinter, in his book on Puerto Rico (" State of Puerto 
Rico," page 197), entertainingly shows the product of one 
man's labor for a year (1832) in raising plantains. He 
can cultivate eighteen acres, growing 11,875 plants, which 
will bear annually, allowing twenty-five plantains to a 
shoot, and three shoots to a tree, 890,625 plantains, or 
enough food for 244 men for one year, allowing them 
each ten plantains a day, or they will bring in money, 
selling them at the then lowest market price — 192 for a 
dollar — $4,639. He further calculates that this amount 
will pay for the land at $100 an acre, buy oxen and horses 
for cultivating, and two slaves at $400 each, and still leave 
a net profit of $1 ,479 on the capital invested. The changes 
necessary in his figures to meet the conditions of today 
are rather in the grower's favor. Land may be had for 
$50 to $75 an acre, and free labor at about $200 a year; 
the product, on the whole, will sell for more, if the larger 
varieties are cultivated, as they bring about fifty cents for 
bunches six to eight hands high, in the market at Maya- 
guez, and, allowing a single full bunch to a tree in place 
of the possible three, the grower would receive about 
$6,000. The factor of transportation, which Flinter does 
not calculate, must be allowed for, and will materially 
reduce the profit. 

There are two varieties of oranges which are indigenous 
to the soil and grow wild in the dense thickets, yielding, 
under unfavorable conditions, heavy crops of fruit. The 
only orange grove actually cultivated as such, of which 
the writer has knowledge, consists of fifteen acres of 

132 



FRUIT-RAISING 

tfees, and is near Mayaguez. It is customary to let all 
young plants live where they spring up, in the shade of 
the coffee plantations, in the fence-rows, and on the road- 
sides, no particular attention being paid them beyond the 
harvesting, perhaps, of what remains of the crop after 
the wandering poor have enjoyed many a luscious globe 
stoned from the branches. 

There grows another variety of orange in the island 
which is bitter-sweet when green, known by the natives 
as " naranja " (the Spanish name of orange), in contradis- 
tinction to the sweet green orange called " chino. " The 
trees differ slightly, in that the " naranja " has a supplemen- 
tary tip or heart-shaped pendant on the end of each leaf. 
The " naranja " is seldom used, though when it goldens it is 
very pleasant and sweet. 

What a veritable paradise this land will be for the 
American orange-grower who carries with him his often 
bitter experience, and careful methods of cultivation, 
gained in the sandy wastes of Florida ! 

The thin-skinned lemon is not indigenous to Puerto 
Rico ; there is, however, a small citron which looks like 
an immense lemon, with a rind nearly half an inch thick, 
which cracks open as the fruit yellows. It is rather dry 
and not very sour, and the juice is used with sugar and 
water as a beverage. The rind is highly aromatic and 
has an economic value. There are no drawbacks to future 
lemon culture, the soil and the climate of the mountain 
uplands being very suitable. Sweet lemons, with a bitter- 
sweet taste, grow very profusely in several sections,though 
they are seldom gathered unless it be to make from them 
a sort of conserve, or to use them medicinally, since they 
are considered of some therapeutic value in malarial 
fevers. Shaddock grow to fine proportions, and are eaten 
to a limited extent. 

133 



PUERTO RICO 

Limes, which are used most universally on the island, 
are very abundant, and, during the flowering season, per- 
fume the air for yards around with the delicate odor of 
their blossoms. The fruit reaches a size and perfection 
seldom seen elsewhere, and the large, paper-skinned varie- 
ties almost cause one to mistake them for lemons. They 
are never raised with intent, and never exported, but 
they may always be found fresh in the market-places. 
The extraction and bottling of lime-juice has been found 
very remunerative elsewhere, and is offered as a business 
suggestion. 

Puerto Rican pineapples are famous for their delicious 
flavor and wonderful bouquet ; in fact it is even admitted 
in Cuba that the pineapple par excellence is grown on the 
sister island. It has only been within the last decade 
that any attempt at systematic culture has been made, 
and the industry is yet carried on in the most primitive 
manner. The Mayaguez district is the one in which they 
are grown mainly for export, and in other portions of the 
island, where never above a hundred or so are grown in a 
single patch, they are used for home consumption, the 
inferior ones alone finding their way to the local markets. 

The raising of the above-named fruits — bananas, plan- 
tains, oranges, limes, lemons, and pineapples — offers in- 
dustrial openings of much merit for men of small capital, 
who cannot or dare not indulge in the high-priced luxuries 
of sugar-growing, coffee, or tobacco plantations. It is a 
sure way to modest wealth, and it is believed that no in- 
vestor, for the next ten years, can go amiss by putting 
his money and his wits into this form of toil. What is 
sorely needed today, however, to assure complete suc- 
cess, is direct lines of fruiters running from the island 
ports to the great marts of our Atlantic seaboard. It is 
possibly on account of the lack of such transportation 

134 



FRUIT-RAISING 

facilities that the more perishable fruits have never found 
their way to the United States from this bit of fertile 
land and sunny sky. 

Cocoanuts grow everywhere along the sandy coast- 
lines, and old coral rocks, which have been covered over 
with rich silts and sands, afford a perfect soil for their 
prolific growing. It is said that cocoanut-raising is 
very profitable ; that is, it gives large returns for the 
money invested, but there is much more labor connected 
with the industry than the casual observer would imagine. 
The sandy margins of the coast-line, where sugar-estate 
holders are willing to part with them, are sold for very 
low figures. The trees rapidly spring to maturity and, 
after a very few years, bear immense annual crops of nuts. 
The heavy expenses lie in the laborious methods of 
gathering the nuts by climbing the trees and hacking the 
branches from the lofty heights, and again in the difficul- 
ties which are met with in releasing the nuts from the 
heavy fibrous husks. Cultivation of the sandy loams in 
which the trees grow is unnecessary, and hence there are 
no expenses in this direction. A very profitable business 
is the extraction of oil from the nuts, as half a dozen 
large ones will furnish a quart of oil. The writer hesitates 
to make too much of a point regarding this industry in 
Puerto Rico, as the suitable areas are not numerous, and 
there are so many far more desirable localities along 
the coast of Cuba, where thousands of acres are available 
in single stretches; it is, however, one of the economic 
possibilities, even here, which should by no means be 
overlooked. 

The cocoa-tree (cacao) grows well, and the product has 
a ready sale on the island, as cocoa and chocolate are 
made at both San Juan and Mayaguez, the best choco- 
late bringing as much as a dollar a pound. It takes 

135 



PUERTO RICO 

seven or eight years for a grove to reach full bearing, 
but the industry is sure to expand rapidly. 

Among the many other valuable fruits which might be 
shipped to northern markets, if rapid steam facilities were 
at hand, is the ' ' aguacate ' ' (alligator or avocado pear, Lau- 
racecB), which grows on a tree with laurel-like leaves, from 
thirty to seventy feet high. The fruit is like a huge pear, 
with smooth, green skin, turning brown if allowed to hang 
too long; it has a soft, buttery meat, half an inch thick, 
which melts in the mouth and is eaten as a salad in com- 
bination with lime-juice or vinegar and salt and pepper. 
While it is almost tasteless without condiments, it is so 
agreeable with them that the "aguacate " habit becomes a 
fixed one after a few months' sojourn on the island. In 
the center of the pear is a large, hard kernel, an inch or 
more in diameter, which is not edible, but from which 
may be extracted a reddish-brown, indelible dye, need- 
ing no mordant to fix its color. This salad fruit is 
sometimes seen in New York, in small quantities, where 
it sells for from 25 to 50 cents, though it may be pur- 
chased on the island for a copper piece. There is no 
reason why it should not be shipped to the United States 
in quantity, but it requires careful packing, and should 
be picked from the trees while firm and green. The 
trees require from five to ten years to mature. 

The " nispero " is another delectable fruit with an inde- 
scribable nectar flavor. It grows on a rather small, bushy 
tree, and looks much like a round, rough-skinned, baked 
potato. It has a number of large, shiny, black seeds set 
in the meat, which make it difficult to eat successfully. 
This fruit would be extremely hard to ship, unless 
packed with great care. Its delicate aroma, however, 
would cause it to find instant favor with our people. The 
tree does not bear fruit until the fourth or fifth year. 

136 




A DATE-PALM 



FRUIT-RAISING 

There are two varieties of fruit, much like plums in 
shape, and known as Indian plums or" jobosdela India." 
The larger kind is an exotic which grows well and bears 
a fruit as large as a lemon. It is fine-flavored, slightly- 
acid, and, when ripe, is of a golden-yellow color. The 
native variety is smaller, but very pleasing to the taste. 
It contains much tannic acid, and is often eaten for its 
medicinal properties alone. The tree exudes, when 
tapped, a gum which is made into a powerful mucilage. 

There are two kinds of guava-tree (Spanish " guayaba," 
Psidium) in Puerto Rico, known as the red and white 
guava ; they grow luxuriantly from the lowlands to the 
mountain-tops, and when their white flowers are in blos- 
som they send off a delightful fragrance. No attempt is 
made at systematic culture of this tree, whose fruit is so 
universally used to produce the fine guava jelly of com- 
merce. Its culture in orchards will be found very remu- 
nerative, especially if, in connection, an establishment for 
jelly-making is considered. It is possible to make deli- 
cious jellies and pastes from the fruit, but the average 
product from the hands of ignorant natives is dark- 
colored, sometimes burned, and doubtful as to its cleanli- 
ness. An American embarking in business, in the line of 
preserve- and jelly-making, will find half a dozen other 
fruits which are available for this purpose, such as the 
tamarind, pomegranate, "grosella," Indian plum, orange, 
etc. 

Pomegranates grow to a very perfect maturity, and the 
fruit is finer in the mountain regions of the island than 
in any portion of the sub-tropical mainland. It is not 
raised extensively, and there is little demand for it in the 
local markets. It offers, however, a factor in fruit-raising 
for foreign markets, as it can readily be transported. 

The " grosella " is a small, irregular-shaped, yellow fruit, 

137 



PUERTO RICO 

about as large as a cherry, sub-acid in taste, and it makes 
a beautiful, transparent jelly. It is never seen except in 
private gardens, where it is raised without difficulty. 

The date-palm, while not indigenous to the West In- 
dies, grows to magnificent proportions, and is a prolific 
bearer of fruit. Its culture has never been attempted for 
commercial ends in Puerto Rico, and one sees only now 
and then some magnificent specimen in the yards or 
picturesque gardens of the great sugar-planters. 

Figs grow readily and well, but, for some inexplicable 
reason, they are not raised on the island in sufficient 
quantities ever to appear in the markets. The few trees 
which the writer has seen were literally loaded down with 
the juicy, pear-shaped pendants. 

The tamarind is little grown, but reaches a high degree 
of perfection, with little care. The jellies and conserves 
which can readily be made from its fruit will cause it to 
impress favorably future fruit-growers. 

An odd growth in Puerto Rico is the pawpaw tree {Pa- 
paya or "lacheza"), which grows all over the West Indies. 
Under the low crown of its large leaves, which are often 
a yard in length, clings the green fruit like squashes, in 
bunches, packed closely around the trunk of the tree. 
These are filled with small, black, pungent seeds, and the 
inner rind, which is eaten either raw or cooked, tastes 
much like a muskmelon of fine flavor, though the meat 
itself is rather gummy. The fruit is used medicinally for 
indigestion and gastric troubles, and possesses marked 
pre-digestive powers ; the seeds are also used for the ex- 
pulsion of tapeworms. 

The sugar-apples or " carrosones " are interesting, as^ 
they look like small inverted Swiss cheeses hanging from 
the trees. They are white and sweet inside, and very 
palatable. 

138 




THE PAWPAW-TREE, WITH EDIBLE FRUIT 



FRUIT-RAISING 

The " mayama " or " mamie " is a tree which looks much 
like a small magnolia, with the same leathery leaves having 
a wax-like polish, and bears a bright yellow fruit about 
as large as an apple. A taste for it must be acquired, as 
it has a suggestion of acridity not generally pleasing. 

The fruit of the granadilla, a species of passion-flower, 
is often eaten, and has a very delightful flavor and aroma. 

There are many other fruit-trees which grow almost 
spontaneously, and whose products are relished by the 
natives, but industrially they hardly come within the 
category of fruits for foreign export, and the writer has 
omitted them, feeling that this work has, for its purpose, 
the pointing out of possible business opportunities for 
Americans. 

Among the edible products called fruits are the bread- 
fruit and breadnuts, which are used in large quantities by 
the natives. The first-named had its original home in 
the islands of the Pacific, and is known as " fruta del 
pan " {Artocarpus incisd). The trees grow very large, with 
wide-spreading branches and trunks bare sometimes fifty 
feet from the ground. The leaves are huge, with rough 
outlines, and the fruit, which hangs on the outer limbs, 
looks much like a giant Osage orange, as large as one's 
head. The ovoid fruit is picked green, and the outer skin 
and rind are pared away from the white, cellular center, 
which is baked in a hot oven or smothered in the ashes 
of the fireplace. When done, it looks somewhat like a 
browned loaf of bread, and, while extremely wholesome 
and palatable, it has not a wheaten flavor, but rather one 
similar to that of baked plantain. 

The breadnut is indigenous, and, to the untrained eye, 
is identical in outside appearance with the breadfruit; 
its interior construction, however, differs, in that it con- 
tains a great mass of closely-packed nuts, like large chest- 

139 



PUERTO RICO 

nuts, which are not edible raw, but are very fine when 
boiled or baked for half an hour. They would catch the 
fancy of the American public, and would find as ready a 
sale on the streets as roasted chestnuts. 

Vegetables, Edible Roots, and Seeds 

The list of vegetables, if enumerated separately, would 
probably exceed that of the fruits, and market-gardening 
on the island will doubtless be profitable locally to the 
skilled gardener, as well as offering possibilities for sup- 
plying the northern marts. 

Sweet potatoes and yams reach a remarkable degree of 
perfection, with but the smallest amount of care in culti- 
vation, and, next to the platano or plantain, form the chief 
diet of the natives, who grow small patches for family 
consumption everywhere on the sides of the steep moun- 
tains, and in other places where the lands are not con- 
sidered available for money -making crops. There are 
many varieties, but no more than four are commonly 
used; two sweet and orange in color, and two white 
when cooked, and near to the Irish potato in taste. The 
great poisonous yams, with tubers thirty pounds in 
weight, which require careful cooking to dissipate the 
acrid juices, are seldom raised. The Irish potato is raised, 
but it is said that it does not do well on account of the 
excessive moisture. Still the Irish potato which finds 
its way to the town markets, and which is grown on the 
high hillsides where the drainage is perfect, is as fine a 
specimen as we grow in the United States. In view of 
the immense yield of the sweet tubers which may be ob- 
tained within a given area, these crops should be money- 
makers, provided cheap transportation may be had. 

Among other roots used for food are manioc, yucca, or 
cassava and the "yautia," "tannia," or "melango." The 

140 



MARKET-GARDENING 

former is well known to most readers as the bread of prim- 
itive tropical tribes. There are two kinds, sweet and sour, 
one being palatable even when raw, and the other filled 
with the deadly hydrocyanic acid, which is removed by 
pressure and heat before it may be eaten. The cassava is 
not used to any extent in Puerto Rico ; the other root, 
however, known commonly as "yautia," is much cultiva- 
ted by the peasantry and held in high esteem, being always 
on sale in the markets. The plant is like a big lily, with 
large spreading leaves, not raised much above the ground, 
and the tuber-like roots, which weigh from three to ten 
pounds, are particularly fine when carefully baked. The 
" yautia " and cassava both yield starch and starchy foods. 
From the " yautia" roots considerable starch is made in 
the town of Rio Grande, in the northern part of the island, 
and is sold principally for laundry purposes; the cassava 
yields the tapioca so generally imported from tropical 
countries, and in this direction alone cassava-raising would 
yield a fair revenue to the cultivator. 

" Gedianda," * a small bushy weed bearing a narrow pod 
some four inches long, filled with little disk-shaped beans, 
is a curious plant, in that these seeds are largely used by 
the peasant population in this coffee-growing country in 
making a substitute for this beverage. The bean is said 
to have great medicinal virtue, and allays inflammation 
of the membranes of the stomach ; the writer can testify 
that it produces a very potable beverage. If there must 
be a substitute for coffee, a decoction from this little bean 
is much to be preferred to chicory, and would perhaps, 
in a commercial way, meet with greater favor than the 
frightful stuff sold in small tin cans in some of our back- 
woods regions as " coffee-essence." 

It may be safely said that any vegetable not requiring 
* Spelled " Hedionda" in Appendix. 

141 



PUERTO RICO 

an extremely dry soil and cold climate may be well and 
successfully grown on the island. The foothills of the 
southeastern portion of the island, where rain sometimes 
does not fall for weeks, are remarkably well adapted for 
the raising of vegetables of temperate climes, and, under 
the strong suns and in the rich soils, the yields will far 
exceed those of the United States. 

The vegetables which are grown everywhere now, as 
common articles of diet, may be partially summed up as 
follows — yams, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, " yautias," 
cassava, celery, carrots, turnips, egg-plants, beets, rad- 
ishes, okra, beans of many varieties, pease, tomatoes, 
cabbage, ginger, sweet and pungent peppers, pumpkins, 
cantaloupes, watermelons, and squashes. 

Spice-raising can be carried on with great success on 
the island, though, so far, but little attention has been 
paid to it beyond the growing of a limited amount of 
" pimi^nto." Black pepper, nutmegs, mace, cinnamon, 
ginger, and cloves may all find a fruitful home, and their 
careful culture is an enterprise well worthy of considera- 
tion. It is said that the vanilla bean would find the soil 
congenial, but this is doubtful. 

There is an immense range of medicinal trees, shrubs, 
and herbs which now grow wild in the forests, and are 
gathered by the women and children, sometimes sold to 
the pharmacists, but oftener hung upon the walls of the 
native huts, to be administered by the old women versed 
in plant-lore to their own sick ones. The average observ- 
ing native has usually accumulated, by experience, a large 
fund of information concerning the plant-life of his hill- 
sides, where he is constantly searching for some possible 
utilitarian value in every living thing. 

As a generalization, it may be said that, in this tropical 
climate which varies considerably from the low seacoast 

142 



FLORICULTURE 

to the mountain-heights, and in the rich and fertile lime- 
stone soils, almost every form of plant-life, which does 
not demand cold weather or an arid earth, will spring to 
luxuriant maturity and fructify in a way to gladden the 
heart of every agriculturist. Americans who have strug- 
gled early and late upon their little farms, against adver- 
sities of cold and leaden skies in spring, dry and blistering 
heats in summer, freezing blizzards in winter, and, worst 
of all, glutted markets, will find Puerto Rico a land flow- 
ing with milk and honey, where, even if they do not amass 
a fortune, they may be sure that financial ends will meet, 
and that they cannot starve. 

There are many dyewoods and plants on the island, 
the chief among them being — the brazil-wood {Ccssalpinia 
eckinatd), in limited quantities; fustic (Spanish " fustoc," 
Madura tinctoria), of the nettle family, which furnishes 
a yellow dye from its wood ; divi-divi {Ccesalpinia cori- 
aria), a small tree from whose bark and long curved pods 
is extracted a reddish-brown dye; mora (Indian mul- 
berry, Morinda cetrifolid), which belongs to the madder 
family; and indigo, a shrub of the family Indigo/era, 
whose leaves and berries furnish the well-known bluing. 
It should be remarked that indigo is easily raised, and 
that considerable profit accrues from its culture, but in 
Puerto Rico it has hardly risen to the point where it 
may be dignified by the term "industry." There also 
grows on the island a bastard indigo, which can be made 
to produce a small quantity of dye. Annotto (Spanish 
" achote," Bixa orelland) grows wild over the entire island, 
and the symmetrical plants, crowned by the gorgeous 
fuzzy red and yellow pods, like chinkapins, may be 
seen by the hundred in every fence-row. It is from these 
soft burrs, filled with tiny seeds, that the fugitive yellow 
dye, known as annotto and used for butter- and cheese- 

143 



PUERTO RICO 

coloring, is extracted. On the island it is used to a lim- 
ited extent for coloring foods fried in oil, and a few 
people have gathered the seeds for export. The gathering 
of this crop would add many dollars to the pockets of 
small farmers, and, if a mordant might be found to fix 
the beautiful yellow in fabrics, it would at once become 
a really valuable article. 

Many of the dye-plants are easily cultivated, and the 
business might be profitable if entered upon systemati- 
cally, but so far little enterprise has been shown by the 
native population in this direction. 

A number of gums and resins are exuded from indige- 
nous trees and plants, and small quantities are gathered 
by the peasants and sold to the pharmacists. The more 
prominent are — guaiac gum from the lignum-vitae tree; 
gum from the seeds and leaves of the Indian (Spanish 
" copey ") tree, and balsam of copaiba from the plants of 
the genus Copaifera ; there are also the algarroba, which 
exudes a gum, known as catechu, used for dyeing and tan- 
ning, and the cashew (Spanish '* pajuil "), from whose acrid 
fruit is obtained a gum which may be used as varnish. 

It is impossible to devote much space to setting forth 
the innumerable flowering plants, the bedazzling foliage- 
plants, which are such freaks of nature that one almost 
pronounces them artificial, and the sweet shrubs and 
trees which exhale from their leaves and bark penetrating 
perfumes. Puerto Rico is a land of orchids, of flower- 
forms which make one silent with wonder, of painted 
leaves which vie with the daring colors of the flowers 
themselves, and of an atmosphere where one breathes, 
not the dew of morning off new-mown hay, but redolent, 
languorous ether distilled by the mystic alchemy of nature. 



CHAPTER XIII 

HOME-LIFE 

IT is a hospitality highly seasoned with garlic and sweet 
oil which the true-born Puertoriqueno proffers to 
Americans, but it is no less beautiful in sentiment for all 
its odoriferousness. 

Perhaps never before in history have a foreign people, 
who talk an alien language, and who have been trained 
under a monarchical system for centuries, so gladly and 
with open hands extended welcome to a nation who 
differed from them in physique, customs, habits of think- 
ing, and religion, as have the Spanish-speaking Puerto- 
riqueflos received the Americans. That some of this 
evident display of friendship is due to politic motives on 
the part of individuals is no less true, but it would be a 
mean and small spirit which would attribute to mercenary 
motives alone the constant extension of the right hand of 
fellowship which has met the army on all sides since its 
advent on the island. 

There are many circumstances which have combined to 
bring about a felicitous relationship with America. For 
centuries Puerto Rico has lain in the grasp of the military ; 
a small and much-favored number of men controlled the 
political and financial reins of the island, to their own 
personal betterment and self-aggrandizement. They 
kept down in poverty those who could be of little use to 
them by the basest and most open discrimination. They 

10 

145 



PUERTO RICO 

built up those who were willing to share their daily profits 
of hard labor with the gold- and lace-bedecked, and yet 
even those who were successful through their fawning 
upon the governmental representatives were not at all 
sure that their tenure of favor would be continuous. In 
a sentence, it has always been possible for the politico- 
military body, in whose hands rested the fate of the island 
population, to make a man powerful and rich, and to beg- 
gar him as easily. 

The process has brought about a social anji financial 
condition in Puerto Rico not possible in the United 
States, and quite incomprehensible to our people, who 
instead of remaining silent under abuse, kick lustily for 
their rights as free-born citizens. It has meant abject 
poverty to the great mass of the inhabitants. It has 
meant almost as low a rate of wage for the laboring 
classes as in China. It has meant that the poor man can 
never be a landholder. It has meant that the land- 
owner, unless in high favor, must grind the vitals out of 
his peons, with scant profit to himself after government 
excises and official tips have been paid. It has meant 
that a few, a very few, might become rich and prosper- 
ous, and it has meant, most of all, that no one, except 
the handful of men in despotic power, has had the 
slightest voice in molding the laws governing a million 
people. 

It is little wonder, then, that this same people stretch 
out their weak hands in joy, with the manacles riven at 
last, toward a government whose very spirit is supposed 
to breathe the perfume of individual freedom. May we 
meet the expectations of these people in full, and may the 
greed of American legislators and American financiers do 
no overt act which will lower the standard of our govern- 
ment, as the Puertoriquefios fancy it. 

146 




COUIsTRY HOUSE OF A WELL-TO-DO PUERTORIQUESO 




GUAVA TREE — FROM THE FRLUT OF WHICH GUAVA JELLY IS MADE 



HOME-LIFE 

There is a handful of Spanish malcontents in Puerto 
Rico — men who hate American institutions, men who 
have been favored under the old regime, and who bitterly 
dislike the change; but how large this element really is 
will probably never be known, as it is masked under the 
Spanish smile of approbation, always ready to stab in 
the back. 

The home-life of well-to-do natives is extremely simple, 
due largely to the fact that excessive duties, lack of trans- 
portation facilities, and abominable roads — except the 
military roads — have militated against the introduction, 
into their homes, of the comforts which we consider so 
essential to life. 

Even the finest haciendas are meager and barren in 
their interior fittings. The floors are always bare. The 
walls have few pictures, though now and then one is sur- 
prised to see a clever painting by one of the masters of 
the modern French school. The usual wall decoration 
affected is a pair of Spanish bas-reliefs in colored plaster 
or papier-mache. Chromos and vilely-executed wood- 
cuts often make an appearance, and seem frightfully out 
of touch with the oftentimes beautiful architectural finish 
of the drawing-rooms, whose wide, doorless archways are 
framed in carved woods and relieved of severity by scroll 
latticework. 

Marble-topped mahogany tables with carved legs oc- 
cupy the centers of the rooms. On them are flowering- 
plants, vases of artificial flowers, and the photograph 
album, and above the table is a hanging lamp or chan- 
delier, usually of cut glass, with a profusion of swing- 
ing prisms, sometimes gaudily decorated with bright- 
colored ribbons, or festooned with artificial vines and 
flowers. 

Cane-seated furniture is used exclusively. The great 

147 



PUERTO RICO 

rolling rocking-chairs constitute the principal furniture, 
with a sprinkling of straight-backed chairs and cane set- 
tees. Many of these chairs would set the lover of novel 
forms and finely-carved furniture wild, for numbers of 
them are rare antiques, handed down for generations. 
The woods of the carved furniture are heavy and highly 
polished, while the more modern is lighter, without 
carving, depending upon the twisted and bent frames for 
beauty, and it is invariably painted a rich black. 

Incongruous decoration is seen in every home, in the 
way of cheap porcelain vases, covered dishes with molded 
figures upon them, antimacassars and tidies on the chairs, 
while in the doorways hang the cheapest of cheap lace 
curtains, held back by brass chains, with perhaps near- 
by some piece of wonderful hand-made native lace or 
drawn-work. 

The mathematical precision with which all the furniture 
is placed in a well-regulated household always creates a 
thrill of horror in the aesthetic breast. Around the center- 
table, equally spaced, are the great rocking-chairs; against 
one wall, like guarding sentries, are the straight-backed 
chairs, while flat against the other wall is placed a cane 
couch or two. Even in the Governor's summer palace, 
this primness in furniture arrangement was found. Out 
on the broad balconies encased in closed white shutters, 
the beautiful chairs were also ranged down the side walls, 
with the tables in the center, for all the world like a dairy 
lunch-room. 

The beds, of brass and metal, are dreams in design, 
covered with canopies of lace, having auxiliary mosquito 
netting gathered up on the top during the day and let 
down at night. Wardrobes and not closets are used for 
clothes. Heavy carved dressing-tables, bureaus, and 
washstands are often seen, but to the majority these have 

148 



HOME-LIFE 

been too great luxuries. Now and then one sees mirrors 
framed in heavy antique frames, which are delightful in 
their symmetry. 

Bad soap is found everywhere, and a single comb and 
brush seem to meet the needs of the family. One sel- 
dom sees manicure sets, though the powder-puff and 
rouge are in evidence in every well-conducted house. 
The lack of toilet articles, dressing-stands, chiffoniers, 
and pier-glasses is painful to those who are familiar with 
the profusion of implements of dainty toilet. 

The dining-room is always quite bare, with the excep- 
tion of the table and chairs, and perhaps a side-table which 
holds the multitude of dishes for an ordinary dinner. 

The kitchen has much of interest and novelty, and 
much dirt and many squalid children, so it is better not 
to see it near mealtime. Modern ranges are seldom a 
portion of the culinary furniture, and when they do make 
an appearance, they subserve the end of a quick-baking 
apparatus, in lieu of the slowly-heated brick ovens of an 
older period. Every house has its charcoal cooking-pit 
built out of brick, waist-high, the top of the bench being 
covered with a series of small,. square, grated holes, over 
which pots and kettles and frying-pans are placed. 
Charcoal, in a country where coal is expensive and gas 
unknown, is an ideal fuel for cooking food. It makes 
a quick, hot fire with a minimum amount of fuel, and the 
many small holes permit a large number of dishes to be 
cooked and kept hot at the same time. 

The opinion of most of the volunteer privates who 
have seen duty in Puerto Rico is that the population 
consists of a lot of dagos, linked together to see how 
much they can raise the price of every commodity and 
to steal everything they can lay their hands upon. A 
striking exception, among enlisted men, to this state of 

149 



PUERTO RICO 

feeling were the Fourth Ohio boys, who went home 
gladly, but with regret at leaving a people who did every- 
thing they could for their comfort. Their good fortune 
was the result of a kindly spirit which imbued the entire 
regiment, and was exhibited toward the native population, 
and reciprocated in full measure. There is no intention to 
criticise other organizations, for the men lived hard lives 
in a hot climate, and were homesick and discontented, 
but there has been shown over and over again a wilful 
malice, by a certain type of volunteers, resulting in 
ordering and cuffing the natives about, as if they con- 
sidered them conquered animals instead of human allies 
and friends. This conduct, in a few towns, has thrown 
the volunteers out of touch with a people who, from habit, 
at least, if not from better feeling, are inclined to show 
courtesy and graciousness to the military. 

Those whose actions have been tinged with good inten- 
tions toward the native population have received a cheer- 
ful welcome, which has made many a lonely heart feel that 
service in Puerto Rico was not all hardship. 

The officers have always been received in the best 
houses, where they have shown themselves appreciative 
of hospitahty extended in a manner not known even 
in the United States. Everything in the Puerto Rican 
houses has been theirs, from the host's horses to his un- 
derwear and collar-buttons. Their entertainers struggle 
to cook American dishes, and swell with pride when 
they procure American fruits, cheese, and crackers for 
their tables. 

A swell dinner in a Puerto Rican home is a trying 
gastronomic ceremony. The menu is made up of as- 
tonishing viands, and the dishes seem to follow no con- 
ventional sequence in their procession to the table. Soup 
is as apt to be the second or third dish as the first. Roast- 

150 



HOME-LIFE 

beef and beefsteak are served at most unheard-of mo- 
ments. The disastrous effect of a meat diet in tropical 
climes has been dwelt upon by medical experts, yet at 
one dinner no less than eight meat dishes were served — 
combinations of bacon, of ham, of kidney, of beef, and 
of chicken. 

The following is the menu of a dinner given to two 
Americans by a rich sugar-planter : 

Fried eggs and two fried corn-cakes. Vegetable soup 
filled with garlic. " Gondinga " (a hash made of chopped 
kidneys and liver, seasoned with garlic and split olives). 
Larded beef — cooked juiceless and hard — flavored with 
garlic and oil. Beefsteak, onions, and garlic, fried in oil 
and served in overdone fragments. Potatoes, sweet and 
Irish. Rice and scrambled eggs. Guava jelly, in rec- 
tangular blocks. Cocoanut and brown sugar. American 
apples and cream cheese. Coffee and cigars. Champagne. 

Claret was served through the entire dinner, and the 
coffee was either black or served with hot milk. Broken 
bread was kept always at hand. 

There are many queer dishes — for example, vermicelli 
soup with whole pork chops, sausages, and tomatoes in- 
corporated made its appearance on one table ; on another 
was a boned goose stuffed with sweet red peppers, olives, 
and garlic ; on still another, roast chicken stuffed with 
sausages and the usual olives and garlic. 

Sweet peppers bathed in olive oil are a common relish. 

" Garbonzas " — a succulent pea not unlike a cooked 
chestnut in flavor — form a national Spanish dish. " Fri- 
joles " — the Spanish red bean — come on as a separate 
course. A number of dulces or sweetmeats are used, the 
oddest one being peanut taffy with chopped garlic. 

Deviled land-crabs are a novel dish and would be 
pleasant-tasting minus the olive oil. 

151 



PUERTO RICO 

The "aguacate" or alligator pear, a salad plant, is 
often eaten in one of the earlier courses with salt, pepper, 
and olive oil or wine vinegar. 

Oranges and small bananas form another dinner course. 
Dry native goat cheese, hand-made, is used very com- 
monly and widely. Sweet-potato soup is good and nour- 
ishing. The bread is generally better than ours, and is a 
close approximate to French bread. 

Dinner is served, one article of food at a time, and the 
plates, knives, and forks are changed with each. At 
least a dozen such changes take place during a single meal. 

Smoking goes on at the table with the ladies present, 
and unfinished cigars are carried into the drawing-room. 

The table decoration consists of a huge bouquet of 
native flowers, which are magnificent in their profusion 
and variety. 

Napkins, where used, are generally as large as towels, 
but in many of the interior towns table-linen is at a 
premium, and it is slightly shocking to catch a pretty, 
black-eyed sefiorita slyly wiping her rosebud mouth on 
the edge of the table-cloth. 

Rum, white wines, and cognac are brought out before 
and after dinner, and at any time the host may think the 
American taste craves stimulation, though, in his daily 
life, the average Puertoriqueflo is remarkably abstemi- 
ous, drinking perhaps before dinner a brandy-and-water 
and before breakfast a little white wine. 

The native early-morning meal is a cup of coffee with 
milk — addiction to the black-coffee habit does not exist 
on the island — and a piece of bread. Breakfast is served 
at eleven or twelve o'clock and is seldom elaborate, unless 
guests are in the house. Boiled eggs, bread, and coffee 
satisfy the ordinary man, but the hungry man eats his 
garlicky beefsteak in addition. 

152 



HOME-LIFE 

Dinner is the meal of the day, and is eaten between six 
and seven o'clock. This is the native's only full, heavy 
meal, and this fact may account for his ability to eat a 
quantity of food which leaves the average American 
a victim to indigestion and remorse. 

The positions of honor at a dinner-table are, among 
the older and non-traveled residents, in the following 
order: the head of the table to the most distinguished 
guest ; the rest, in the order of their rank and importance, 
ranged around to the right, the host occupying the last 
seat after his guests. The women sit at the left of the 
table, all together. Among the more cultured classes, 
the host occupies the head, the hostess the foot, the 
places of honor being the seats to the right and left of 
the host. 

The evenings in the home, for instance, of an alcalde 
— the mayor of a town — are spent around the marble- 
topped center-table, lazily rocking to and fro in the 
big chairs. The men smoke their cigarettes — the women 
never smoke — and a flow of small talk, filled with simple 
jokes and sallies, constitutes the entire evening's amuse- 
ment. Where they have pianos, the daughters exhibit 
their limited skill on instruments which are jangled and 
out of tune. One never sees a book or a magazine in 
these houses, though in two or three of the larger cities 
there are many literary men. Reading is not a strong 
point of the island population. The women are pictures 
of self-complacent indolence in the evenings, though it 
must be understood that Puerto Rican women are far 
more assiduous in their interest in household economy 
than are the women of the other Spanish-speaking terri- 
tories of North America. 

Every little comfort which these people can provide for 
the stranger within their gates is offered with a whole- 

153 



PUERTO RICO 

souled cordiality that appeals to the heart by its true and 
unaffected ring, and, as Americans coming among them, 
we should remember that, by meeting this spirit measure 
for measure, we shall follow one pathway to a sincere and 
lasting mutuality of interests. 



CHAPTER XIV 

LIFE AMONG THE PEASANTRY 

THE life of the peasant, the peon, of Puerto Rico is 
not a dream of ease and luxury ; neither has he ever 
passed through the nightmare of wretched hunger and 
biting cold which adds so vitally to the hardships of the 
poverty-stricken in northern climes. 

In squalor and filth, in crudity and ignorance, the 
larger number of the inhabitants go through their com- 
paratively short lives, for one does not see many aged 
people among them. They die off from fevers, con- 
tagious diseases, and troubles handed down from sickened 
forefathers, at a comparatively early age. 

At no period of the poor man's existence can he suffer 
the tortures of starvation because his job of work has 
given out, for, while during whole months of the year 
he may not earn a single centavo, he still has his little 
plot of vegetables on the hill; then, if worst comes to 
worst or the landowner turns him out, he may live on 
the profusion of fruits and roots of the forest, or, as is a 
common practice of the country, upon the fruits filched 
from his more opulent neighbor. 

In the dry season he complains of the cold of early 
morning, yet he needs but the merest rags to cover his 
nakedness, for on no day in the year is it colder than our 
mildest autumnal weather. Shoes are a useless burden 
to his bare and sole-leather-lined feet, which have trodden 

155 



PUERTO RICO 

the rocky, briary trails in their nakedness from infancy ; 
and a hat, if he must have it, he makes in his own house 
from the grass grown around the doorway. 

The house in which he is domiciled he builds in a few 
short days from poles and thatch and bark-rolls of the 
royal palm, and a good house it is, in spite of its primi- 
tive appearance, for it screens him from the colder winds 
of night, and sheds the water of the driving rains like a 
duck's back. 

As a story-book life of primitive simplicity,- in which 
the human needs are few and readily met with a mini- 
mum amount of labor, it is idealistic, but as an existence 
for civilized man it is a horrible fantasy. 

The average wage of the laboring man is less than fifty 
cents Spanish a day, and the work for which he is paid 
does not cover a period of more than four or five months 
in the year. It is not customary for the employer to 
hire his laborer by the month or the year, but to secure 
his assistance only at cropping times. Sugar-plantation 
workers in the field are usually paid sixty-two cents 
Spanish a day, though the skilled labor of a few men in 
the mills brings from one to one and a half pesos. The 
tobacco-field laborer gets about fifty cents, depending 
upon the locality and controlled by the supply of labor- 
ers. The coffee-pickers are almost equally divided as to 
sex among grown people, with a large sprinkling of chil- 
dren who receive so much per measure, a hundredweight 
of coffee-beans delivered at the hacienda of the planter 
bringing about a peso. This makes the wage very vari- 
able, as quick and skilful pickers, when the crop is heavy, 
can make one peso a day, while in less prolific fields they 
secure only starvation wages. The little children add 
materially to the sum-total of the family's revenue, but 
it is not over a few centavos a day. At the coffee-mills 

156 



LIFE AMONG THE PEASANTRY 

and drying platforms, where the work of handling the 
coffee is constant and heavy, the wage is often a peso a 
day, but the numbers engaged at these places are small. 
Girls do most of the assorting of the coffee — though a 
few owners do this work with machinery — and seldom 
get above forty centavos per diem. 

It may be said, then, that the wage of the Puertoriqueno 
is exceedingly small, and the time he is employed short. 
His earnings hardly amount to enough to supply him with 
clothing and trinkets for his family. In idle times of the 
year he must support himself from his garden patch, high 
on the steep hillsides. 

The employers in Puerto Rico all maintain that the 
returns in work done by the laborers of this tropic zone 
are much less per day than what is accomplished by 
laborers in the United States, and that their purchasing 
power for necessities is greater. 

House-rent is an almost unknown factor in the country, 
though in the towns many people huddle into one house 
and live, amid dirt and disease, at an expense to each 
family of a few pesos a month. It is customary for 
landed proprietors to grant to their peons small patches, 
on the steep hillsides, which are of little value for tillage. 
This meets the end of assuring their services to the plan- 
tation-owner upon demand, with no expense to himself, 
and secures him the ^clat of being apparently a philan- 
thropist. 

One enterprising Spanish coffee-raiser gives garden 
spots to his laborers rent free, with the understanding 
that they may raise garden stuff, provided they plant 
guava-trees, the shade for the coffee-plant. By this 
means he gets virgin soil under cultivation, and grows 
the tree so necessary to successful coffee culture, while he 
becomes a benefactor with a string tied to it, for his 

157 



PUERTO RICO 

laborers move every two years to new land, and the coffee- 
plant springs up in a rich and fertile soil. 

These little garden patches of the peons, divided by 
green, untrained hedges hanging high against the hills 
and over the steepest ridges, with their thatched houses 
boldly clinging to some sharp spur or bench, all clustered 
together under close-growing banana-plants, or, in lonely 
singleness, watched over by a naked baby or two playing 
in the dirt, add greatly to the general picturesqueness of 
the entire region. 

In the gardens they raise principally " batatas," or sweet 
potatoes, which seem to be the staple article of food. 
They have three varieties of this potato, one as sweet as 
ours and two with a taste much like our Irish tuber. 
Rice is often grown, and it is a curiosity to northern 
people to see, in place of lowland, carefully-irrigated 
areas, luxuriant, heavily-laden rice-fields on the highest 
mountain-peaks. Beans of various kinds, squash of odd 
forms, muskmelons which look like pumpkins, peppers — 
big and little, — a substitute for coffee called " gedianda," 
gourds and calabashes of great size, " achote " — a bean- 
like pod filled with edible seeds, — bananas and plantains, 
and " yautia " or " tannia " — the tuber-lily — make up the 
list of vegetables grown by cultivation upon these baby- 
farms of the poor. 

One sees, now and then, a lean, razor-backed pig or two, 
held in tow by a hobbled leg, nosing around the doorway 
of a hut, and the fighting-chicken is always present ; be- 
yond these and the cur-dog there are no domestic animals. 

Children are an ever-present and abundant factor in 
the domestic economy of the peasant's life. Domestic 
economy is a fitting term, since it costs nothing to supply 
the air of day for the lungs of these little waifs, and it costs 
nothing for their clothes, for they run about in the sun- 

158 




NATIVE TYPES — A MOTHER AND CHILDREN IN STREET 
COSTUME 



LIFE AMONG THE PEASANTRY 

shine and the rain just as God made them, and sleep in 
odd corners without cover, for the first half-dozen years 
of their baby lives, while, when older, a single discarded, 
tattered garment adds to their natural grace the shield of 
decency. So they live, without expense and with little 
tenderness bestowed on them in the shape of material 
comforts, though the mother's kiss is often given, and 
the father pats the little head. They soon toddle, at the 
command of the mother, to do small errands, to help weed 
the garden, to bring in a handful of wood for the fire, 
to dig the tubers for a meager meal, and lastly to hold up 
their tiny hands and, with pleading eyes, gain a copper 
from the passer-by on the roadside. They are a good 
investment in the family ; the majority of them die at an 
early age, and it costs but a few strained hours to the 
mother's heart, a bit of cloth for a shroud, and the energy 
needed to carry the tiny form to the potter's field. Off- 
setting this is the usefulness of those who, by the laws of 
survival of the fittest, pull through with sturdy forms, to 
pick berries, work in the cane- and tobacco-fields, and add 
to the common fund, until, at a varying age, they rebel 
against the paternal banker, and live for themselves, in 
poverty and in bondage to the landed kings, just as the 
generations who came before them. 

Among these people, the houses and house-building of 
the poor are always interesting. The methods, the ma- 
terial, and the interior fittings are quite as primitive as 
among any of our aboriginal tribes of North America. 
In fact there are less skill and less art shown in their con- 
struction than those exhibited in the highly ornate tipis of 
the Sioux, or the cleverly-built adobe houses of the Zufiis. 
The type and shape of house vary little. A framework 
of lashed poles is thrown up, with a ridge-pole lashed 
above the rectangle box, and to the side walls are tied the 

159 



PUERTO RICO 

broad bark-curls unwound from the upper green trunk 
of the royal palm, the walls sometimes being doubled 
by lining the interior. The bark overlaps and is drawn 
taut by thongs in such a way as to make a perfectly solid 
wall. One opening suffices for a doorway, and window- 
openings are unknown. The interior is often divided 
into two rooms, with the door-opening of the second 
compartment in the hallway, but as the dimensions of 
the entire house seldom exceed ten feet square, the quar- 
ters become rather crowded. At night, four or five people 
sleep on the floor or swing in small hammocks, and, block- 
ing the outer room or passage perhaps, lies the man of 
the house in a low-swung hammock. The house is a 
shelter from the wet weather of day and the damp of 
night, and at other times the inhabitants live outside, the 
women squatting on their heels, when domestic labors are 
not pressing, chattering at each other like a flock of par- 
rots. In the ditch-water paddle a dozen naked babies, 
with protruding stomachs due to fruit and vegetable diet, 
good-natured and aimless in their play. 

The roofs are all thatched, preferably with the great 
leaves of the cocoanut or royal palm, or with the heavy, 
long, rank grass of the fields. One never sees ornaments 
in the houses. Now and then some of the very few re- 
ligiously-inclined will possess a rag-baby saint, covered 
with dangling bits of silver blessed by the local padre. 
The children have trinkets and playthings of the crudest 
character, and a naked baby boy is a happy youngster when 
riding a piece of stick for a horse, while his nude sister 
sits and fans herself, with haughty mien swaying a bit of 
palm-leaf. The walls are hung, not with decorations, but 
with various eating-utensils, made commonly from the cal- 
abash, though the richer element sometimes proudly dan- 
gle a tin cup against the wall. Cooking is done on the 

i6o 



LIFE AMONG THE PEASANTRY 

outside of the house in dry weather, on a sheet of iron or 
in a small, badly-battered iron kettle, and the foods are 
served in gourd dishes, and eaten with gourd spoons. 
The powdered rice, corn-meal, and seed-coffee are ground 
in wooden mortars or broken between stones. In con- 
tinuous bad weather the life of the peasant is hard, as he 
is perforce obliged to cook within the confines of his 
house, which soon fills with a damp, clinging smoke 
that finds egress only through the openings under the 
eaves. 

Marriage is almost unknown among the very poor 
classes, and the distinction of having the written word 
and the blessing of the priest carries with it no special 
meed of honor; it is suggestive only of another poor 
man gone wrong and a grasping padre a few pesos richer. 
It is a much easier matter for a man to select his com- 
panionable partner, and set up housekeeping in a new 
wickiup under the banana-trees, without more ado. 

A legal marriage by license has less in it which meets 
approval, in the native mind, than that performed by a 
church functionary, for the padre might always save them 
from hell, while the nation's sanction is an absolutely 
barefaced robbery. General Grant recently gave hear- 
ing to a much-agitated man who stated that the priest 
would not marry him to the woman he loved without 
excessive fees, and he prayed that his excellency would 
order the erring father to marry him at a rate commen- 
surate with the size of his pocketbook. The General 
sorrowfully told him that he could not pretend to inter- 
fere with the church's rulings, even though his sym- 
pathies were aroused, and suggested that he be content 
with the legal form, which meets all the lawful needs of 
our own country, and pay the small fee to the civil au- 
thorities. The man glared at him and disappeared; it 
II 

i6i 



PUERTO RICO 

being beyond his power to express in words the manifest 
cupidity of American officials. 

It is to be remarked that there is little quarreling 
among these people, paired by nature's approval, and that 
their relations, while not the acme of conventional mod- 
esty and virtue, are on the whole constant. A belief has 
arisen in the American mind that virtue, as known to us, 
has no existence among the poorer classes of Puerto 
Rico. It should be remembered that wretchedness, 
poverty, and oppressive rulers beget, as an offspring, ab- 
ject humanity with no great sense of moral honor. After 
admitting that this is true, it may still be said that fidel- 
ity and devotion between the couples so paired are uni- 
versally found among these black-eyed, soft-voiced peons 
of our new island, and it is not to be believed that an ex- 
cessive amount of immorality exists. 

Chronic diseases are common, engendered by bad diet, 
total lack of sanitary measures, and an almost equal 
shortage in personal cleanliness. Among the distressing 
evils is elephantiasis, said by some to be a pseudo-leprosy. 
It begins by an enlargement of one or both ankle-joints, 
then of the toes, until finally the entire lower extremities 
are involved, and the toes and feet slough off. Fortu- 
nately most of these sufferers die before the frightfully- 
acute stages are reached. It is a common thing to see 
men and women limping, slowly and feebly, on limbs 
twelve inches in diameter. It is said that nothing but 
death can relieve them. 

Goiters are prevalent among them, and it is not un- 
common to see men and women decorated with a huge 
bunch, as large as an orange, behind their ears. 

Anaemic malaria is a constant skeleton, seen weakly 
shambling in a thin shroud of dead-white skin. Great 
numbers die from this manifestation of chronic malarial 

162 



LIFE AMONG THE PEASANTRY 

poisoning. Quinine, which battles successfully against 
this disease, is an unreachable luxury to the poor. It 
has been put, by Spanish import duties, a dozen times 
higher in price than in the United States. 

Blindness is often seen ; only a very small percentage of 
the population may suffer from this malady, but it is im- 
pressed on the mind everywhere, in traveling the roads, for 
the blind beggars seem to have quite regular sentry posts 
from which they plead, by gesture alone, for a centavo. 

There are many more diseases prevalent among the 
poor, but these have been touched upon in connection 
with other features of the island. 

After a long day's toil (it might as well be, perhaps, 
after a day of lazy dozing, but the Puertoriqueftos work 
when they can), the women plod home in the dying sun- 
light, with swaying hips and stiff necks, carrying, balanced 
on their heads, huge bundles of damp clothes, washed in 
the near-by river, which they throw in an empty corner 
of the hut for tomorrow's ironing. They laboriously 
blow the fleeting spark of a carefully-smouldered fire into 
a bright, glowing flame and prepare the frugal meal for 
the family. The tiny light sparkles on the hillside in 
the faUing darkness, and welcomes the home-coming of a 
barefooted, ragged, cotton-appareled husband, who wea- 
rily climbs the narrow, winding pathway, with far more 
picturesque effect than does the ruddy glow of a conven- 
tional hearthstone within a luxurious home. 

Preference in the choice of life is a materialistic prob- 
lem and another story, but this is a picture which, for 
some subtle reason explained by people who look inward, 
appeals strongly to the emotions and sentiments of those 
who see the beautiful in the primitive. 

The little children are already creeping into the house, 
to lie down in odd corners for a night of dreamless slum- 



PUERTO RICO 

ber, clasping some morsel of food, to be eaten or not 
depending on the speed of Morpheus's descending arms. 

Somewhere, out among the huts, the thrum of the 
home-made, soft-toned guitar beats out a half-Spanish, 
half-Indian air; now it changes to a new rendition of the 
music of " After the Ball," a second instrument takes it 
up, and then a new sound strikes the ear; in quality it is 
between the rattle of a snake and the pit-a-patting of a 
clever shuffle-dancer on a sanded floor. The instrument 
is called a " guida" (we^-da), and is made from the great 
curved-neck gourd, the music being produced by passing 
a bit of wire from an umbrella frame (how the primitive 
and civilized are mingled!) up and down a series of 
notches cut from end to end on the outside curve of the 
gourd. There is some amplitude to the instrument, for, 
by playing higher or lower on the narrowing shell, some 
difference in tone is gained. 

But there is a third cadence in the music ; it is a drum, 
beaten, for all the world, like the drum made by the Pa- 
pago and Yaqui Indians of Sonora desert in Mexico, only 
the peevish, fretful cries of a dying infant take the place 
of the wail of a coyote out in the moonlit cacti. It is of 
the same size and shape — three inches high and a foot in 
diameter — but not as crude ; except that the Puerto Rican 
drum does not require to have the heads warmed in front 
of a fire before it will give forth sound, they are the same. 

The music is weird, as it is wafted on the night air, 
and the dancing, which takes place later in the bare 
patch in front of a hut, by the flickering light of a waver- 
ing torch, is fantastic in the extreme. The dance has a 
slow and melancholy step, and the dancers shuffle round 
and round, with a slight bending of the knee which keeps 
the body bobbing, and yet they enjoy it. The funeral 
procession of slow waltzing, affected by some enfeebled 

164 



LIFE AMONG THE PEASANTRY 

Americans, is the nearest approach one can make to 
comparison. 

This is the chief innocent amusement of the people 
who Hve in the country, in the " campos" ; they cannot 
read, and have not the printed page if they could. Read- 
ing books is not a habit of the people of the island of 
Puerto Rico, and the little, monarchical, printed sheets, 
laboring under the name of daily papers, are read assidu- 
ously by men of the cultivated classes, but, at five cen- 
tavos, are an expensive luxury to the man who earns but 
fifty a day. 

The men — the young fellows especially — all gamble 
with an abandon which would do credit to a seasoned 
gamester and higher stakes. A species of shell game is 
fashionable, as the paraphernalia costs nothing, and an 
anxious, eager circle, sitting on their heels, will imperil 
one another's balance to see who guessed the right cover. 
So much as a centavo or two is wagered, but the stakes 
are large in proportion to their earnings. 

The life of the poor people in the towns is less simple 
and more vicious, just as it is with us. The men — and 
the women too, for that matter — become drunk on rum. 
They fight in the streets and kill each other now and 
then. There is less virtue in this class, and a great pro- 
pensity for small pilfering. Beyond the facts that the 
cash received for labor is less than in our great cities, 
that her^ a poor man can go into the country and eat fruit, 
and that no great metropolitan centers exist where vice is 
hidden from the eye, there is small difference between 
their sins and those of our own desperately poor class. 
In fact, in the weighing, it could be shown that the ad- 
vantage lies with the Puertoriqueno, in that he does not 
get drunk as often as a vicious American, he is less pro- 
fane, and less apt to do desperate deeds. He is a mild 

165 



PUERTO RICO 

criminal at his worst, not dominated, apparently, by the 
fierce, cruel, stealthy passions of his Spanish kindred, 
and not nearly so bad as the burly, fearless, vicious ruffian 
of American cities. The preponderance, in numbers, of 
the abjectly poor over the better class has led to an oft- 
expressed opinion in our American papers that the Puerto- 
riquefios, as a people, are devoid of moral instincts, 
vicious, degraded, and lazy. It is not true as a general- 
ization ; they are, measured by the majority, good workers, 
for folk of simple mind, when labor presents itself; they 
are abstemious, with few exceptions, and do not paint the 
town red ; their moral instincts are not of the highest, but 
they much excel our bad classes in moral feeling; im- 
morality exists, but there are no seething seas of inde- 
cency. 

The Puertoriqueflo is not an anarchist or an insurrec- 
tionist, for he knows no other life and does not starve 
or grow cold, while the burdens of oppression are his 
birthright, handed down for centuries. He is, then, in 
spite of his wretchedness, dirt, and poverty, as we see 
it, a fairly-contented man ; and while it may take a long 
time to mold this man — representing the majority — into 
a self-respecting, useful, franchised citizen of the United 
States, it can be done, for the reason that he is docile, 
obliging, appreciative of favors, and, best of all, pos- 
sesses an inbred courtesy and politeness, and an equabil- 
ity of temperament, which permit him to readily absorb 
new ideas. 

The American nation has been to him in the past the 
synonym of all that is just and grand and righteous, 
and, if we do not abuse our power, Puerto Rico may be 
made a twentieth-century Garden of Eden, in which the 
native, trained in new methods of freedom, may, for the 
first time in three centuries, enjoy the sweets of liberty. 

1 66 



CHAPTER XV 

BURDEN-BEARING 

A COUNTRY without roads will necessarily have a 
population of human burden-carriers, and generally 
primitive transportation methods, and nowhere is this 
axiom better exemplified than in Puerto Rico. It seems 
curious that a little island, settled as early as 15 ii, with a 
population of a quarter of a million souls two hundred 
years later, and with a full million near the end of four 
hundred years — or at the present time — should yet be in 
the travails of primitive methods of burden-carrying. Yet 
this is so. The last century, with its giant strides of 
machine-made progress, has only left its impress on lag- 
ging Spain reflexively, for she could not, in her senile, 
tottering nationality, respond to the vivifying impulses 
of a modern world. What progress she has made, what 
advances her colonies have felt, have been thrust on all 
from the outside bounding, hurrying civilization of other 
nations. Every engineering scheme, every new mechani- 
cal device and method used in her erstwhile isles of the 
West Indies, will be found to have emanated from for- 
eign influences. It is not intended here, however, to 
discuss Spanish mediaevalism, but rather to describe the 
methods and means of transportation in Puerto Rico, as 
they exist today, when America takes up the great re- 
sponsibility of making new history for the island. 

Spanish life, with its homes, its posing, its indolence, 

167 



PUERTO RICO 

its mafiana, affords rare gems for the painter's brush, and, 
as a never-ending field of picture-possibilities to the 
photographer, it is superb, but it brings from the lips of 
the hustling business man of America — decided and 
demanding — just plain, ordinary profanity. 

The bread-wagon is on the street somewhere; you hear 
the vender's high-keyed, plaintive cry rising and falling 
with a musical cadence. He will be before your door 
after a while, and in the meantime be patient, even if you 
are inclined to be cross before your coffee, eggs, and 
bread in the morning, for your human bread-wagon, with 
the great board or basket filled with fifty fine fresh 
loaves, balanced deftly on his head, must see the settle- 
ment of a misunderstanding between two scratching, 
biting, half-clad urchins; now he has stopped to banter a 
merry-eyed, dark-skinned girl, whose tattered gown dis- 
closes that she is a Venus in disguise ; and heavens ! he 
has stopped again to get a light for his inevitable cigarette. 
The bread is all the better when you get it, for you are 
hungry. 

" Great Scott! I '11 wring your dago neck, if you don't 
get around in the morning with our milk," an exasper- 
ated officer cried to the man who drove his dairy farm 
from door to door, but the man — not understanding — 
smiled his languid smile and answered, " Muchas gracias, 
senor! " and forthwith sat himself down on his haunches 
and proceeded to wring the warm lacteal fluid from the 
soft-eyed cow into a wine-bottle. How was he to blame 
that the half-starved calves, which coax the milk to flow 
from the walking cows, with never a good round pull from 
the nipple for themselves, cavorted wildly through the 
plaza, and had to be tied finally, neck to neck, to keep 
them from running amuck ? " Los Americanos " are so 
rude! 

1 68 




THE BREAD-WAGON OF CAGUAS 



BURDEN-BEARING 

The foot-venders are so interesting, so picturesque, that 
one forgives them — after breakfast ! Everywhere through 
the streets in the early morning float the cries of men and 
boys, in sing-song notes, calling the excellency of their 
wares. Here is a tall, lithe fellow, with a swinging trot, 
carrying on his head an immense board of fresh vegetables, 
and, as he comes down the street, turning his head stiffly 
from side to side, slowing the spinning motion of the 
plank with a touch of his hand, and eagerly watching the 
doors and windows for the beckoning finger of a customer. 
His deeper cry mingles with the high-pitched, shrill voice 
of the little black fellow, hardly waist-high, coming from 
the other corner with a tray, teetering on the woolly 
pate, filled with cocoanut and sugar dulces which his black 
mother has an hour before pressed into shape with her 
not over-clean hands. 

The number and variety of things which are sold from 
these recklessly-balanced boards are amazing; all kinds 
of vegetables and fruits, dulces, candies, cakes, trinkets, 
and bottled, fermented cocoanut milk. 

Some of the equilibrious feats are remarkable. The 
angle which the heavy tray may take seems to make little 
difference, for the bearers apparently never drop them. 
It is possible to turn completely around with a tray five 
feet long — which sets it slowly whirling by momentum — 
without touching hand to it, and I once saw a man, with 
a tray piled up with cakes and candies on his head, chase 
a tantalizing boy half a block, finally landing his perse- 
cutor in the gutter by a flying kick, without so much as 
shaking his load. 

In the early morning, when the shadows creep long and 
slender on the ground, the roads to the cities are filled 
with market people from the country. The milkman is 
perhaps most in evidence, either driving his cows with 

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PUERTO RICO 

him to milk before his customer's door — which method, 
by the by, should insure unadulterated milk, — or carry- 
ing a big can, decorated with dangling ladles and meas- 
ures, on his head. Some of them swing along with 
lurching step, never touching hand to the high, ten-gallon, 
open-mouthed can of fluid. 

The hat-weaver and the broom-maker stride unsociably 
behind each other toward the market-place, to sell the 
handiwork of a week's labor, carrying their wares on an 
oscillating shoulder pole. The banana and platano man 
moves forward under a load of two hundred pounds of 
green bunches of fruit as if it were a feather, while, coming 
out of town, are two pedlers, their baskets, piled high with 
cheap stuffs for the peasants, being so heavy that they 
must have assistance to lower them to the ground, and 
still they will march five miles without a rest. 

In the never-flagging procession come four men, two 
bearing, swung to the bamboo pole on their shoulders, a 
rude hammock with a tented sheet screening its contents 
from the rapidly-heating sun. Only a poor old man 
going into town to die ! They may take him into the 
poor-house, if he belongs to the church ; if not, he goes to 
the bare room of the dead-house at the cemetery. Too 
sick to work ; too poor to be cared for ; a blessing to die ! 

The more opulent travel on ponies, with great loads 
bulging from their sides which would put a full-grown 
government pack-mule to the blush. Oranges are carried 
in great round panniers, which, when well filled, must 
weigh nearly three hundred pounds, and the driver, not 
content with all this load sawing on his little animal's 
back, usually seats himself astride in the center. It is no 
uncommon sight to see whole families go to town on 
one pony, the man and wife aback, and the youngsters 
in the baskets. 

170 



BURDEN-BEARING 

Two hogs, weighing a hundred and fifty pounds apiece, 
are often brought to market in these big baskets, with 
all four feet tied together, and, through their muzzled 
snouts, they give forth a faint intimation of what protests 
they would utter if they were to slip the curb. 

The bulkiness of some of these pony-loads takes the 
breath away ; for example, one man comes to town with a 
load of eighteen plaited pack-saddles, two bales of grass 
for horse collars larger than those of compressed hay, and, 
on the top of all this, two new wicker baskets ; even then, 
not satisfied with the staggering load, the master hoists 
himself up between these hills of grass, and placidly rides 
twelve kilometers into the city. 

Trunks, household furniture, and in fact everything 
imaginable are packed over the steepest, most precipitous 
mountain-trails on the backs of these patient, ever- 
responding native ponies. One never ceases sympathiz- 
ing with these sturdy little animals, which, badly treated 
and uncared for, struggle through life handicapped by 
weights far above their class. 

The real gentleman — that is, the Spanish official gentle- 
man — never rides a basket saddle : he prefers an English 
saddle; but the majority of mountain-living coffee- and 
tobacco-planters use, almost exclusively, a soft leather pad 
to which are attached two small, rectangular wicker bas- 
kets. The position astride is one of sitting on a stool 
with your legs dangling from the knees. The gait of the 
ponies is a quick running walk or single-foot, which is 
very smooth going, from the top of this broad pad; 
easier, in fact, than on a saddle with stirrups. All the 
native horse-stock is small, and many of them are hardly 
higher than a good-sized Shetland. Their staying quali- 
ties are marvelous, and in a day's ride over trails no 
American horse can stay near them. They are the horse 

171 



PUERTO RICO 

for Puerto Rico and tropical climates generally. The 
stock might be improved in size, perhaps, by crossing with 
the hardy cayuse or cow-pony blood, but an admixture 
of large, blooded stock would be a doubtful experiment. 
The big American animal does not thrive in the climate. 

The principal draft animals are oxen — fine, large, big- 
horned fellows, quick and active on their feet, and, when 
urged forward, capable of keeping up a trotting gait for 
miles. It is said that the use of oxen as draft animals 
indicates a primitive condition in the evolution of a 
people. The great mass of these people are primitive 
enough to bear out this assertion, but it must be said 
that the indigenous ox has been highly bred to a quicker 
draft animal than is ever seen elsewhere. He is an ad- 
mirable institution in an agricultural country, where four 
yokes of animals are required to drag a plow through the 
heavy cane-land, and, as a draft animal, he nearly rivals 
the mule. The mule will probably replace him in the 
course of time, but the heavy horse never, as the climate 
and diseases are against him. 

In the island, oxen are firmly yoked from the horns, in 
place of the loose yoke on the shoulders known to us in 
America. Considerable criticism has been indulged in, by 
the late invaders, regarding this cruel manner of handling 
the beasts; but, as a matter of fact, a yoke firmly lashed 
at the base of the horns — which is the strongest draft 
point on these short, heavy-necked animals — is far prefer- 
able to an open yoke which wears the shoulders into 
blisters at every step. They move more easily in the 
stiff yoke, and back admirably, which is a movement not 
executed with the open yoke. 

It is distressing to watch the drivers goading their 
teams forward with sharp spikes driven in the end of 
light shafts, and blood is often seen flecking their necks, 

172 



BURDEN-BEARING 

where the cruel barb has been wilfully thrust home. So- 
cieties for the prevention of cruelty to animals are the 
only remedies for such evils where man has a heart of 
stone toward his beast. 

The ox-cart is the typical, heavy, two-wheeled, broad- 
tired vehicle known to every southern Californian, and on 
it immense loads are conveyed over the best military 
highways ; and, during the cropping seasons of coffee, to- 
bacco, and sugar, the strings of lumbering carts seem never 
to cease by day, while at night one hears the rumbling of 
train after train, each carrying spook-like candle-lanterns 
made of tin — a favorite variety being an old coal-oil can 
driven full of round holes, behind which the candle splut- 
ters and flickers in a fantastic way. 

Every town has its scores of island-made, public car- 
riages, of the surrey class, drawn by sore-backed rats of 
ponies. They are exceedingly comfortable and the rates 
are low, governed by municipal regulation. The Jehu is 
no more exemplary, however, than our own metropolitan 
cabby, and it is advisable to make your bargain in advance, 
or be willing to pay on demand, go to the alcalde's office 
and settle it, or walk away while your driver dances 
around you and talks excited Spanish. 

No city except Mayaguez has yet soared to the heights 
of rail-riding cars. Traveling by foot, the ox-cart, the 
pony, and the low carriage has contented them. Maya- 
guez alone took a metropolitan flight and established a 
line of street-cars, running through the city to the water- 
front a mile away. They run on a track so narrow that 
one feels like sticking his foot out and hopping along to 
keep the car balanced. The little boxes hold sixteen 
passengers on a squeeze and are drawn by mules; though 
they run fifteen minutes apart, they are a comfort to the 
traveling public and are much patronized. 

173 



PUERTO RICO 

As I sit in the growing twilight, voices are wafted to 
my balcony in weird, foreign cries of " Dulce! Si vende 
dulce!" "Agua de cocoa! Mucho fresco ! " For a hun- 
dred years — yes, for two hundred years — have these 
voices filled the evening air and pleaded for patronage 
from some fair buyer on the balconies above, where idly 
the Spanish belle wiles away the evening in laughter, and 
casts longing eyes at the gay caballero promenading be- 
neath. A generation hence and all this will have passed 
away, and, in the dying, a new, strong nation will have 
arisen ; the old charming picture gone, and a new one 
of smoking trains, burring trolleys, blinding lights, a milk- 
man in a wagon, and a huckster with a one-horse cart, 
who cries, * * Fish ! Fresh fish ! ' ' 



CHAPTER XVI 

COCK-FIGHTING 

THE only real recreation of the rural Puertoriquefios 
seems to be cock-fighting. Bull-fights have never 
gained a foothold in the island, though many of the 
Spanish-born citizens profess a profound regret that their 
national pastime seems not to have met with favor. The 
only reason given is that the people have always been 
too poor to indulge in the expensive luxury of importing 
any of the distinguished matadors from home, such ex- 
perts being indispensable when it is desired to raise bull- 
fighting above the level of mere brutality. 

As a matter of fact, cock-mains are more reprehensible, 
morally, than bull-rings, since in the former is displayed 
a brutal fight to the death between untrained but plucky 
birds, while the latter call for an exhibition of skill of 
hand and nerves of iron on the part of the human par- 
ticipants. 

Every town in Puerto Rico has at least one cock-pit, 
built and owned by some thrifty lover of the mains. They 
differ little in construction, consisting of an earth-floored 
ring some eighteen feet in diameter, surrounded by an 
outwardly-inclined, closely-boarded fence, with half a 
dozen hinged entrance gates, which may be closed fast 
when a fight is on. Back of this fence, board seats are 
built, sometimes rising three deep like circus benches, and 
in the ultra-fashionable places they are divided into num- 

175 



PUERTO RICO 

bered and reserved seats. Covering the ring is a square, 
open-sided, roofed shed, with a railed balcony having a 
row of benches some eight feet above the ring level. 
Outside of all is a high fence, built ot clapboards from 
the great royal palm, which prevents intrusive glances. 

It requires little provocation to start the inhabitants of 
the entire countryside to fighting their pet game-cocks. 
Sunday afternoon — after a hasty visit to the church in 
the morning — is always devoted to the island pastime, but 
a saint's day, a feast day, or any one of the many con- 
stantly-recurring festive holidays brings out hundreds of 
country folk, who trudge along the narrow trails, bare- 
footed and lightly clad, with birds under their arms, or 
jog along upon the cantering-gaited ponies, with their 
legs hung over the wicker side-panniers from which valiant 
chanticleers thrust forth their heads and lift their strident 
voices in defiant challenge. 

It is not to be supposed that game-bird fighting is fol- 
lowed by the entire population as a means of recreation, 
for the wealthier and commercial classes, while not es- 
chewing the amusement of watching a main now and then, 
take no active part in the pit. The followers of the gaff 
are, however, not numbered entirely, as in our own 
country, among the tougher element, but it has as its 
devotees most of the poorer element, laborers or peons 
who work on the large plantations for hire, and have little 
garden plots of their own to supply their family needs. 
They are quiet, hard-working people, when work is to be 
had, who enjoy intensely their few simple pleasures, and 
go into ecstasies over their great sport of cock-maining. 

Around the cock-pit are gathered two hundred jabber- 
ing peasants, in cotton clothes and loose blouses, with a 
sprinkling of the better-dressed and more opulent towns- 
men, clad in immaculate white duck, set off with starched 

176 




COCK-FIGHTING AT CAGUAS 



COCK-FIGHTING 

bosoms, collars, and small flowing ties. The ring is 
crowded with men carrying their pet prize-cocks under 
their arms, all striving to secure wagers, and vociferously 
proclaiming the virtues of their respective birds as fighters. 

The first fight has been arranged, and the referee claps 
his hands as a signal for all gathered in the ring to move 
outside, as only the " handlers " are allowed within the 
enclosure. The birds are fought with their own gaffs, 
instead of with the metal, razor-edged blade which is 
strapped to the legs of cocks in the United States, and a 
great deal of preparatory scraping and polishing of the 
bone gaffs takes place, until they become needle-like in 
sharpness. Then all the crest or neck feathers are cut 
off with scissors, and sometimes the comb is trimmed 
low, but not often, as all the minor details of handling, 
so rigorously observed among our own gambling frater- 
nity, seem here to be dispensed with. 

The birds are teased into fighting humor while held in 
the hand, and viciously pluck at each other's heads; 
now they are dropped on the ground with a quick move- 
ment, and at the order of the referee they are at it. 
High up in the air they strike the first few plunges, and 
one dodges under, while the uppermost bird lands over his 
enemy with a surprised look, but whirls and grabs his op- 
ponent on the red comb with a strong beak, and plants 
his gaff fairly on the side of the other's head. A roar of 
approval goes up from the crowd who have backed this 
bird, and a counter set of suppressed hi s of fear rise from 
those wishing for the success of the other favorite. The 
fight is fast and furious. 

At last the red cock sinks his head with blinded eyes, 
and the blood drips off upon the ground. His panting 
antagonist watches him a moment, as if not willing to 
take advantage of his desperate condition, and, at the 

12 



PUERTO RICO 

lull, each owner rushes forward and grabs his bird. 
One takes the bloody head and neck of his pet into his 
mouth and sucks the congealing blood, and then breathes 
new life into the sinking cock from his own lungs; the 
other resorts to a water-bottle from which he fills his 
mouth and blows it on the head and neck, and under 
the wings of his bird until the closing eyes brighten from 
the refreshing spray. 

Time is called ! In the center of the ring lies a small 
square, outlined with sunken wooden sticks, and on its 
opposite edges the birds are set. The mongrel-spotted 
bird goes for his game-colored enemy immediately, and 
strikes him three times to the other's once. Poor fellow ! 
his fight is over! he turns and runs away, followed by his 
fierce tantalizer. Once more they are rubbed into shape. 
One vicious gaff, as they come together, and the red bird 
sinks dead, the bone lance going deep into his eye and 
brain. 

The crowd surges into the ring and the money changes 
hands, while the owner of the dead bird gathers up the 
bundle of bloody feathers with some show of tenderness. 

On and on it goes for hours, until the hundred con- 
testants have been reduced by half, and the once bright- 
plumaged, bragging birds, who dared each other on from 
the balcony as they struggled at the end of their restrain- 
ing bark thongs, have changed to bedraggled, bruised 
fellows with hanging heads and bent legs, whose droop- 
ing eyelids tell the story of the desperate fight. They 
are only birds, but there is something very pathetic 
in witnessing their fight for life, — fighting to kill, if you 
prefer, — surrounded by a concourse of howling human 
beings who cheer on each stroke that draws another drop 
of vital blood. It is a brutal sport, this baiting of birds 
against one another, that fight with blinded, bloody eyes, 

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COCK-FIGHTING 

not seeing their enemy at the finish, but striking wildly, 
unflinchingly, at the superior force as they die ; but it is 
the one, the only amusement which these people could 
afford, the only one offered them by a nation which has 
crushed out human hearts and dwarfed human minds by 
three centuries of malicious officialism. 

There was no drinking, no carousing among the specta- 
tors; no ugly swearing, no bad feeling engendered, and 
no taint of rowdyism such as we see in our own country 
at such gatherings. Instead, with one accord the people 
were out to enjoy their holiday in gay good humor, and, 
while excitement rose to a tremendous pitch, no harsh 
word was spoken and threatening looks were unknown. 
That the amusement was brutal and of low order seemed 
not to occur to anyone. They had been taught this form 
of pastime, and conscience did not trouble them. 

Through the little entrance gate, built from the wood of 
the royal palm, the crowd moved from a cock-fight to 
a solemn Catholic ceremony to be held in the near-by 
cemetery, and in the lead strode a little black youngster, 
in one of our soldiers' cast-off campaign hats, his bare, 
black chest shining through the front of a dirty cotton 
coat; what cared he that the fight had cost him a silver 
piece, hardly gained by blacking the army's shoes ? he was 
happy in the possession of a handful of copper centavos 
which did credit to his acumen as a bird-backer, and 
made him envied by his youthful playmates. His twink- 
ling eyes and merry laugh sobered quickly to awe-stricken 
glance and solemn expression, as the black-garbed priest 
strode by. 

Verily only such a mercurial race could have stood the 
blighting abuses of a despotic government with com- 
placence. 



CHAPTER XVII 

THE PRINCIPAL CITIES 

EVERYONE who intends to visit Puerto Rico asks 
two questions, " Which is the best town on the 
island ? " and " Which is the best town for business ? " 
The answers to both questions must necessarily be a trifle 
ambiguous, for each of the three principal cities, San 
Juan on the north coast, Ponce on the south, and Maya- 
guez on the west, possesses certain prestige, commercially, 
over the others, while, if the first question refers to cli- 
mate, no one of the three compares favorably with many 
of the interior mountain hamlets. 

The answer to any question regarding climate is to be 
found in the chapter on physiographic features. There 
is little difference in the temperature of the coast-lying 
towns, though the annual rainfall of San Juan and Maya- 
guez is somewhat greater than at Ponce, bringing more 
cool nights, which are, perhaps, counterbalanced by un- 
pleasantness in moisture-saturated air. 

As regards sanitary conditions, preference may be given 
to Mayaguez, then Ponce, and next San Juan, but any 
city which is dependent, for the removal of its sewage, 
upon surface drains and bullock-carts cannot be regarded 
as a wholly desirable place of residence, and, under a 
tropical sun, germ diseases will necessarily be more or less 
prevalent. 

It will be better to portray the general characteristics 

1 80 



THE PRINCIPAL CITIES 

of each city separately, and let the reader form his own 

opinions. 

San Juan 

San Juan, as the seat of the island government, has 
always been the leading city in population, and also as 
regards the congested condition of its populace. It 
boasts — naturally, as the past home of the Spanish Gov- 
ernor-General — the residences of the principal military, 
naval, and high civil functionaries, and the finest public 
buildings, while there have been appropriated and ex- 
pended more monies for general local improvements than 
in any other city. 

It has undoubtedly the best harbor on the island, in 
that it is completely landlocked, though at present it is 
sadly in need of dredging so that ships may have suffi- 
cient depth of water and room to maneuver in the basin. 
The city is entirely circumvallated by an immense sea- 
wall, and guarded on the north and east by the pictur- 
esque, antiquated, and massive forts of Morro and San 
Cristobal, the construction of which began in 1630 by the 
erection — covering eleven years — of Morro castle at the 
entrance of the harbor, followed by the raising of San 
Cristobal, a mile to the eastward, over a century later 
(1771), and the final adding, bit by bit, up to the middle 
of the present century, of the great sea-walls and masonry 
platforms which connect them, and pass around the land- 
ward side of the tiny island upon which San Juan is built. 
During the war-scare of 1897 and 1898 the old forts sud- 
denly blossomed out, under hastily-renewed building 
enterprise, with several new series of gun emplacements 
and numbers of bomb-proof ammunition rooms of modern 
construction, which, in their up-to-date types of architec- 
ture and fresh cement faces, look very incongruous beside 
the castellated and grey -walled structures of the past. 

181 



PUERTO RICO 

The population of the city and suburbs is estimated at 
abo.ut 30,ocx), and probably within the narrow confines of 
the town itself, which is compressed into a very limited 
space between the great forts on the seaward side and the 
battlements of the harbor, live over 20,000 souls. The 
principal house portion of the town consists of well- 
constructed — so far as the walls go — double-storied build- 
ings, with now and then one rising to three floors. In 
the more squalid portions of the city (one can walk all 
over the town in an hour), the houses are but a story 
high, and in a single room an entire family — and more — 
eke out an existence in the semi-darkness of the one- 
windowed, illy-ventilated apartment. The storekeepers 
and business men who do not live outside the city, in the 
pretty little suburban towns of Bayamon, Santurce, and 
Rio Piedras, usually live over their stores on the second 
floor. A town residence with a front yard is unknown, 
and the only bits of green to be seen are in the gardens 
of the Governor-General's palace, Casa Blanca, or in the 
inner courtyards, measuring a few square yards, of some 
of the more prosperous merchants. 

The streets are narrow and dark, a gloom increased by 
the projecting balconies of the second story, where, in 
the evenings, the family sit and chatter in the light, 
pleasant chit-chat of southern climes. The sidewalks are 
so narrow two people may not walk abreast, and hence 
the streets — which, it must be said, are well paved and 
scrupulously clean — are used as highways for pedestrians 
and vehicles in common. One wonders, with the reckless 
driving of the " cocheros," who race down the streets in 
their carriages, giving as they come a high, shrill cry of 
warning, that more accidents do not occur to the slow- 
moving foot-travelers. 

There are two public plazas, one near the heart of the 

182 



THE PRINCIPAL CITIES 

town, upon which face the City Hall and the Intenden- 
cia, and the other on the outskirts of the city, under the 
frowning walls of San Cristobal. The former is merely a 
flat, open space, cement-paved and surrounded by a thin 
line of young shade-trees. In the evenings, the citizens 
of the town closely crowd this little quadrangle and 
promenade, apparently in happy spirit, to the music of 
the band. The Plaza de Colombo is still more restricted 
in area, and in it stands a handsome statue of Columbus, 
while behind his back one may partake of the vinous 
beverages of Spain and the island, in a tiny wooden booth. 
Facing this square is the grand theater, which is not only 
a handsome building, but has a seating capacity of nearly 
5,000. The stage is wide and deep, and the settings 
admirable. Some of the most noted opera-singers have 
sung to crowded audiences in this house. Theatrical 
performances, however, have been, as a rule, far apart, the 
French vaudeville having, oftener than anything else, 
brought laughter from San Juan audiences. This great 
opera-house has served, too, as a public meeting-place, 
and all vital political questions have been discussed in its 
auditorium, by eloquent speakers who easily pass into 
frenzies of meaningless rhetoric, and arouse, to the boil- 
ing-point, the enthusiasm of this mercurial people for a 
few short hours. 

There are two clubs or casinos in the city, Spanish 
and Puerto Rican ; in fact there are three, now that 
the Americans have opened their hostelry, which has 
a rapidly-growing membership, principally of army 
officers. 

One small library may be found on the main plaza, 
filled principally with Spanish literature, though there 
are many old files of English magazines, and, curiously 
enough, it is now thronged, day and night, with Ameri- 

183 



PUERTO RICO 

can soldiers, who pore over the English reading matter 
or greedily scan the pictures in the Spanish books. 

San Juan boasts of the most pretentious, at least, of the 
educational institutions, and the best-supported churches 
on the island, and it has an island hospital for the in- 
sane, a poor-house, a jail, the largest barracks for sol- 
diers, and a great military hospital, which recently, under 
American hands, has become a model institution. The 
schools, churches, and charitable institutions will be 
treated under a separate head. 

There is more of historic interest and general pictur- 
esqueness in this old place, founded by Ponce de Leon in 
15 1 1, than in any other locality, and hence the tourist 
and the sight-seer may have their hearts gladdened by 
the moss-grown and decaying architecture, though to the 
business man, the man who contemplates making Puerto 
Rico his future home, it is perhaps the least attractive 
spot. Its drawbacks may be summed up by saying that 
the city has virtually no more room to expand on the 
baby island, without reclaiming outlying morass; it has 
already a shrewd and far-sighted population of business 
men, Spanish, Puerto Rican, French, and German, with 
just a few Americans who are old residents, and they 
cover fully every branch of possibly profitable trade, and 
are perfectly competent, both by experience and accumu- 
lated wealth, to quickly seize new chances and hold closely 
in their grasp the old. 

There are, however, two advantages — both natural — 
possessed by this town over the seacoast places; first, 
the harbor, which, by its protected position and ready 
accessibility from the north, will always make this a de- 
sirable port of entry, and again its position on a sloping 
hillside, in close proximity to the sea, which renders the 
problem of introducing underground drainage a compara- 

184 



THE PRINCIPAL CITIES 

lively easy one, and will, when this sanitary improvement 
is accomplished, convert San Juan into the most health- 
ful of towns, instead of being, as it is now, a breeding- 
place for periodic pestilence. 

Water- Works of San Juan 

Nine miles from San Juan, by the military road, near 
the little town of Rio Piedras, there is a piece of engineer- 
ing just approaching completion which is to result in 
furnishing the capital of Puerto Rico with a much-needed 
water-supply. Aside, one is surprised that cities of the 
size of San Juan should have remained so many years 
in a primitive condition, without modern water-works, 
without gas, without electric light, without sewage, and 
without street-cars. 

The awakening to the needs of modern life and the 
possibilities in the direction of mechcnical comforts has 
come only in the last few years, and then principally 
through the instrumentality of progressive Americans. 

It is calculated that within four months San Juan will 
be able to dispense with the questionable supply of rain- 
water in cisterns, to which may be attributed a portion of 
the sickness developed, which will be replaced by well- 
filtered water drawn from an uncontaminated source far 
up in the mountain ravines. 

This has been practically accomplished by damming a 
mountain stream, at normal periods some thirty feet in 
width, by a substantial wall of masonry twenty feet high. 
American engineers would pronounce this portion of the 
work defective, in that along the low flood-plains to the 
left of the stream there are no extension retaining-walls, 
and hence all flood-waters rush around the unprotected 
end of the dam. The monetary loss, when the spring 
waters cut a new stream-bed, as they will, over the allu- 

185 



PUERTO RICO 

vial plain, will be of small moment as compared to the 
distress which will be caused by the temporary cutting 
off of the water-supply from a city whose people have be- 
come educated to the use of water from faucets. 

Beyond this primary objection to the work as it stands, 
it may be said that the undertaking has been well and 
ably executed, under the direction of Spanish engineers, 
including, as it does, settling basins, sand filters, pumping 
basins, steam lifting pumps, primary receiving reservoirs, 
and secondary distributing reservoirs. 

It is estimated that this plant is capable of raising and 
distributing two million gallons of water in twelve hours, 
with one set of pumps in action. 

All the great basins have been built by throwing up a 
massive surrounding-wall of earth, and erecting against 
this a stone wall four feet in thickness, finished with a 
cement lining. The stone used in their construction is 
a fine-grained, blue limestone, brought from the moun- 
tains within a mile and a half of Rio Piedras. As a 
building-stone, it is said to be excellent. It is worked, 
however, with some difficulty, as the massive rock seems 
to have no general lines of cleavage. The entire eastern 
end of the island abounds in immense, metamorphosed 
sandstones, approaching quartzites, and in limestones 
ranging to argillites. Both make fine building-stone, 
and, with better roads and easier means of transportation, 
they will very likely come into extensive industrial use. 

The water comes from the dam through a twenty-four- 
inch pipe to two settling basins which are used alter- 
nately, and it is here held for twenty-four hours until the 
major portion of the foreign matter has precipitated. 

Provision is made at the lower end of these basins to 
flow off the water into the stream, so that the basins may 
be cleaned of the accumulation of mud. 

1 86 



THE PRINCIPAL CITIES 

From the settling basins, it is flowed into great dupli- 
cate filter basins, which have a bed-covering of four feet 
of coarse sand; the water passes through these beds of 
sand into the final pumping basin. 

In the event of any trouble with the filter beds, it is 
possible to flow the water, by side trenches with cemented 
walls, around the filter basin, directly into the pumping 
pits. The pumps are direct-coupled, and the engines 
are of the condensing type, manufactured by a Glasgow 
firm. 

The primary reservoir is situated a hundred and sixty 
feet above the pumps, and is a work of beauty. The 
walls are of rough masonry, topped with a handsome 
stone fence. The center of this great basin, holding 
three million seven hundred thousand gallons, is divided 
by a median wall, and the valve-house is situated at one 
side of this division. 

A twenty-inch main leads into the city, this piping 
having been furnished by a Belgian company. 

The entire work has been planned and carried out 
under the supervision of Spanish engineers, though the 
story goes that the original plans for this plant, with 
estimates of cost, were presented by a Scotch engineer 
on the island, and, with his approval, they were mailed 
to Madrid for final sanction. These plans, it is stated, 
were then stolen from the post-ofifice, and copies made 
of them under the direction of the Governor-General, 
who forwarded them as an original scheme. They were 
approved by the government at Madrid, the Scotchman 
getting neither credit nor money. 

The total cost of the completed plant with the water in 
the mains, it is said, will be somewhat over six hundred 
thousand pesos. 



PUERTO RICO 

Ponce 

Ponce claims, by her last census, a population of 49,000 
people in her urban and rural districts of the province. 
In the town proper, however, the population is 15,000, or 
a little over ; though, by including the villages of Cantera, 
Canas, and La Playa, which are closely connected together 
and lie two miles away, on the highway leading to the 
water-front, the number may be raised to 24,500, or quite 
as many people as in San Juan proper. 

It may be overdrawing a trifle to say that the spirit of 
Ponce is American ; there is no doubt, however, that 
there is a far more progressive air about the inhabitants 
than elsewhere. They court and foster enterprise, and — 
which is a desirable condition — the population is princi- 
pally Puerto Rican, as distinguished from the conserva- 
tive Spanish, over whom many years will pass before 
they will change their methods, or hold out the hand of 
frankness to Americans. 

In the past there has been much jealousy between the 
capital and Ponce ; in fact the feeling has almost amounted 
to hatred on the part of the Ponceflos for the controlling 
officialism of the other town, and most of the weakly- 
conceived schemes of revolt and rebellion against the 
formerly existing government have originated in societies 
of native-born islanders, of strong mentality, who live in 
the southern district. This constant uncertainty as to 
what Ponce might do, if provoked too far, did much to 
lessen the weight of the oppressive yoke of Spanish 
usurers, and gave her a chance to fairly use the brains of 
her citizens in municipal government. Without going 
into detail, it may be said that Americans will here find 
the hand of hospitality and fraternity extended to them, 
in a degree not existing in the older town, and, further, the 




A MARKET SCENE AT PONCE 



THE PRINCIPAL CITIES 

writer believes that the people will heartily cooperate in 
any improvements or methods which will lead to a prac- 
tical betterment of the city or its laws. 

An important factor to men contemplating a permanent 
residence in some town on the island is the possibility of 
extension of the corporate limits. Ponce has none of the 
natural barriers to expansion existing at San Juan, as it 
is built upon a level surface, under the edges of the rolling 
foothills, and at a considerable elevation above the sea. 
It can grow readily in almost any direction with equal 
facility, and it has not, at its threshold, any of the mias- 
mic, fetid marshes so common to the coast. 

The heart of the city is well built, with many brick 
houses, and the streets, while not paved as in San Juan, 
are well macadamized and wide, with sidewalks which are 
too narrow, yet are an advance over other towns, since 
two people may easily walk abreast. The outskirts of 
the city are rather ragged, both as to houses and people, 
and in this fringe the city's poor live in separated huts 
and houses, bad enough, but far better than the prevail- 
ing condition at the capital, where the poverty-stricken, 
frightfully unclean, live crowded shoulder to shoulder. 

The principal plaza of the town is a park of real beauty 
— with the refreshing shade of its great trees — in which 
are situated an old cathedral, the primitive hand-pump 
fire department, and an open dining pavilion. 

There are three hospitals, including the military, a 
home for the destitute poor, a few fair schools, several 
clubs at which Americans are very graciously received, a 
very pretty little theater, several hotels and cafes which 
are the best on the island, a library with a few rare books 
and many worthless ones, gas-, electric-light, and ice- 
plants, all too small and defective, water-works supplying 
an abundance of good, potable water, thermal baths of 

189 



PUERTO RICO 

which few seem to avail themselves, and lastly the only 
Protestant church in Puerto Rico. 

The seaport of Ponce is La Playa, two miles away, 
which has a resident population of some 3,500. It is the 
warehouse of Ponce, and is a great advance over San 
Juan, whose lack of storage facilities for incoming or out- 
going merchandise is astounding, the materials often 
lying piled twenty feet high along the water-front, ex- 
posed to the weather. 

The harbor proper has ample water for vessels drawing 
twenty-five feet to within a few hundred yards of the 
shore, where it shoals so rapidly that few steamers ven- 
ture nearly as close in as they might. A most serious 
shortcoming of this port — and it applies equally well to 
all the others — is the lack of a wharf. It is astonishing 
that, with an average annual trade aggregating some 
thirty millions of dollars, not a wharf has ever been con- 
structed at any water-front in Puerto Rico, or even at- 
tempted except at Mayaguez, where a partially-built and 
defective structure is found. 

Commercially, Ponce ranks second, and, unless the 
trend of American enterprise should take an unexpected 
turn, it will, in a few years, be the greatest trading-center 
on the island. It has, in support of this assertion, the 
following elements : A good harbor, rather too open, but 
withal fairly protected, and wharfs can be economically 
constructed here, as elsewhere; the port-town is admi- 
rably suited, in its location and in the buildings already 
on the ground, for handling a great commercial trade; 
Ponce is a delightful home for the merchant and business 
man, probably the most healthful one on the island at 
the present time ; it has more good wagon-roads leading 
out to sections rich in coffee, sugar, cereals, fruit, and 
tobacco than any other town, as well as a railroad con- 

190 



THE PRINCIPAL CITIES 

necting it with the proHfic Yauco district to the west ; 
and finally it possesses, inherent in the population, more 
progressive business enterprise, as measured by American 
standards. Poncefios have well, though perhaps egotis- 
tically, likened themselves to the brains of the island, 
and contemptuously slur at the capital by adding, " And 
San Juan is the stomach! " 

Mayaguez 

Mayaguez is the prettiest town, of the three large cen- 
ters, in the lightness and grace of its architecture, which, 
in Spanish towns, is always apt to be heavy. It also has 
the broadest streets and the widest foot-pavements, and 
is situated upon rounded, rising ground which will permit 
of easy drainage. 

The population is estimated at about 12,000, and it is 
said that there is a greater percentage of white inhab- 
itants than in any other town ; exactly what is meant by 
" a white population," in Puerto Rican significance, is 
difficult to determine, as few inhabitants, unless direct 
from Spain or aliens, are free from some trace of negro 
blood. 

This city claims the honor of being nearest to the point 
where Columbus landed on island soil, and the inhab- 
itants have, in consequence, erected a monument to his 
memory in the central plaza, which, in connection with 
the handsome stone railing surrounding the paved park, 
set with statuettes commemorative of this landing, forms a 
fitting tribute to the great discoverer. If Columbus had 
been a domestic man, instead of a wanderer on the face 
of the earth and an untiring seeker after pastures new, 
his shade must have long since cried out in agony against 
the turmoils and brawls which have kept his weary bones 
circulating among a quartet of graves, and caused him to 

191 



PUERTO RICO 

press his foot — whether he would or not — upon nearly 
every sandy stretch of the West Indies. Three places 
on the island of Puerto Rico, alone, claim that there 
he bent his silken hose and raised his eyes to heaven in 
thanksgiving! 

There is not, in the town of Mayaguez, the same visible 
evidence of poverty, in the hordes of ragged, tattered 
natives upon the streets, and the citizens claim that there 
is less distress and want ; there are certainly, in the out- 
skirts, less huts and hovels of the poor. This can be 
explained, to some extent, by the fact that Mayaguez is 
off the main artery of travel, and does not so readily 
catch the negroes from the little islands of the Lesser 
Antilles, who are each year drifting in greater numbers 
from their forlorn sea-homes to Puerto Rico, in the hope 
that it holds out more material promise ; also, the great 
coffee districts, which reach almost to the city's edge, 
demand laborers for longer periods of the year; and lastly, 
the rate of wages has been, for the past few years, slightly 
higher than elsewhere, — a few centavos a day, where the 
usual wage is low, means a marvelous amelioration in 
the condition of the laboring man. 

While Mayaguez ranks third commercially, and supplies 
very little territory with imported merchandise, industri- 
ally, or in the manufacturing of products, it leads the 
other cities, and gives steady employment to many men. 
There are four big coffee-mills, which convert the sun- 
dried coffee, brought over the trails from the Mayaguez, 
Utuado, and Lares districts, into a fine export article by 
removing the second hull, bluing, and polishing. In ex- 
portation of this product it is second only to Ponce. 
This town also leads in the shipment of fruit abroad, 
principally to the United States. 

It possesses a tannery of no small proportions, where 

192 



THE PRINCIPAL CITIES 

they use the native wangli bark for tanning, and turn out 
an excellent leather, much used by local cobblers. 

There are four concerns which produce a fine chocolate, 
much in demand for local and Spanish consumption. 

The small industries are manufacturing straw hats, 
weaving baskets, making the native rush pack-saddles, 
and polishing and cutting tortoise-shell. 

Mayaguez has much the best ice- and electric-light 
plants on the island. Nine tons of ice a day is the maxi- 
mum output. The water for the city is brought from a 
mountain torrent two miles away in the foothills, and is 
good and abundant. 

Again, it is the only town which has, as its great pride, 
a street railway. It is very narrow gauge and the cars 
are tiny affairs, but it does excellent service. 

The harbor has the misfortune of having a wide-open 
mouth seaward ; in fact, it is no more than a great in- 
denture in the coast-line, protected, to some extent, by 
a series of immense coral reefs, acting as a giant sea-wall 
and embaying the inner waters. Some years ago the 
construction of a steel wharf was begun, but, as before 
stated, it has never been completed ; it is said that some 
eighty thousand pesos were expended in putting up what 
there is of the shaky structure, and, if this be true, the 
project has much the air of a steal, as the ironwork and 
labor could not have cost, in America, over twenty thou- 
sand dollars. 

The municipal and other prominent buildings of the 
town are the alcalde's office, a fine barracks for soldiers, a 
substantial hospital for the military, the cathedral on the 
main plaza, a delightful little opera-house, and an excel- 
lent home for the aged and infirm. It has two fairly good 
hostelries, and a market-place which is ahead of those of 

the other towns in architecture and spaciousness. In the 
13 

193 



PUERTO RICO 

lower part of the city, near the theater, is a fascinating 
little park, with an ornamental fountain, gorgeous foliage, 
and flowering plants, the whole being set off with royal 
palms. The charm of this town, which altogether is the 
most desirable of any as a place of residence, is much 
enhanced by the magnificent ceiba trees which tower from 
behind the white-porticoed houses, with far-reaching 
branches and leaves, and by the mass of flowering vines 
which overgrow the heavy masonry walls, or guard fan- 
tastic wicket-gates, with their clinging sprays of white and 
pink flowers. 

There are several casinos, and in most of them Ameri- 
cans will be welcome, though the Spanish club still holds 
aloof, the haughty spirit of its members having been 
somewhat wounded, perhaps, by the way in which Gen- 
eral Schwan scared their brave soldiers, and sent them 
cantering through the city to the mountain wildernesses 
beyond. 

Other Cities 

From a purely business standpoint, it is doubtful 
whether there are other cities on the island which are of 
any special interest to Americans, unless they intend to 
engage in the enterprises of tobacco-growing and coffee- 
raising, or the buying of these products. Caguas and 
Cayey, on the great military road, are now the largest 
tobacco towns and lie in the heart of the tobacco district. 
The entire product is handled by Spaniards, who can be 
easily displaced by Americans understanding the busi- 
ness, as their shiftless, careless methods have rather re- 
tarded than built up an industry which should be only 
second to coffee. 

Caguas is a dirty, unpleasant town of some five thou- 
sand people, including the hundreds of inhabitants of 

.T94 



THE PRINCIPAL CITIES 

squalid, outskirting, palm-thatched huts, whose filth and 
degradation are hidden away behind groves of waving 
plantains. There are no conveniences whatever which 
would tend to make a residence here desirable ; the sani- 
tary condition of the streets is fearful, and the majority 
of the houses are infested with abominable creeping life. 
Spanish sentiment is also strongly against Americans. 

Cayey, on the other hand, while not being much in 
advance of Caguas, either in convenience or sanitation, 
is, from a distance, one of the most picturesque of towns, 
and its elevation of nearly two thousand feet causes the 
climate to be delightful. The best cigars are made here, 
by half a dozen Spanish firms. This is one of the places 
which will, through the possession of general advantages 
in location, climate, and fertile soil, develop into a strong 
commercial city, and become a stopping-place for pleasure- 
seeking winter tourists. The town is really a half-way 
point between the two cities of San Juan and Ponce, and 
either is easily reached over the fine military road. The 
problems of sewage and water-supply may easily and 
economically be solved, as the town lies high in the hills, 
while many mountain torrents are near at hand, coming 
from still greater altitudes. 

The only other interior town, which stands out in the 
mind of the writer as deserving of mention, is Lares, high 
in the mountains in the western end. It is almost inac- 
cessible from the coast, as it lacks connection therewith 
except over execrable trails. A highway or military 
road reaches out from Mayaguez toward it, but the mac- 
adamized portion gives out after thirteen kilometers, and 
the road, in full width, stops at Las Marias, twenty-two 
kilometers from Mayaguez and about sixteen kilometers 
from Lares, so that it is reached only by a trail of which 
the mind without experience could only conceive in night- 

195 



PUERTO RICO 

mare. It has an alleged wagon outlet toward Arecibo, 
through which nothing but a bull-cart, with three or four 
yoke of oxen, can wallow. Lares is a busy, thriving little 
coffee town, of some two thousand inhabitants, and its 
very isolation seems to have warmed the hearts of its 
people to acts of hospitality toward the stranger who 
comes their way. It is in the very center of a great 
coffee district, and many of the richest haciendas on the 
island are clustered in a radius of ten miles, tucked away 
in beauty-spots of mountain wilderness and tropical lux- 
uriance. Senseless, malicious native bandits, imbued 
with the turbulent spirit of insurrection, so common 
among the poverty-stricken of Spanish-Americans, have, 
in utter wantonness, burned and pillaged dozens of fine 
estates pending the advent of our army, and, in wander- 
ing over the trails, one meets everywhere the desolated 
ruins of once happy homes and large coffee-works. In 
consummation of revenge, they have, through their blind 
hatred of Spain and her once loyal citizens, only suc- 
ceeded in taking the bread from their own mouths and 
those of their children. There is perhaps no more de- 
sirable town in which to embark in the coffee business, 
and certainly no better region, all things considered, in 
which to become the owner of coffee-land. 

Most of the other coast towns and principal interior 
cities have been mentioned in other articles, but those 
which have been here described are the most desirable, in 
varying degree, as regards accessibility to harbors, busi- 
ness, and residence. Yauco, the coffee town on the south, 
Arecibo, a large coffee town on the north coast, Guayama 
and Humacoa, sugar towns of the southeastern portion, 
with poor ports four miles away, Fajardo, on the east 
coast, with a good harbor, Aguadilla, on the west above 
Mayaguez, and many interior towns might all be dis- 

196 



THE PRINCIPAL CITIES 

cussed specifically, but, while many of them will no 
doubt, in years to come, develop into commercial towns 
of note, under the progressive methods of hustling Ameri- 
cans, they do not at present possess the attractiveness of 
the places described. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS 

ONE approaches the subject of the schools, churches, 
and charitable institutions of Puerto Rico with 
many misgivings, so palpably bad has been the Spanish 
administration along these lines. 

Schools 

The island " Budget " for 1897-98 shows an appropri- 
ation of Gg^yyG pesos for Public Instruction, which was 
allotted, ostensibly, to the eight districts in varying pro- 
portion, based upon their relative importance and popu- 
lation, but which in practice, it is said, had use found for 
most of it in the city of San Juan. It is not to be sup- 
posed that this insignificant amount represents the entire 
school fund for the island, as each municipality provides 
for its own school taxes in its annual estimate of ex- 
penses for the district. 

It may be pointed out that the district of Ponce — which, 
by the way, rather leads in money expended upon com- 
mon-school education — appropriated in 1897-98 the sum 
of 34,000 pesos. Assuming that Ponce secures a share 
of the government fund to the amount of 8,000 pesos, 
her total appropriation would be raised to 42,000 pesos 
to be annually expended in a district with a total popu- 
lation of 49,000 souls. . 

It is difficult to say, by reason of the lack of accurate 

198 



SCHOOLS 

census, what proportion of the population are children 
between the ages of six and eighteen years, but they 
probably compose as many as two-fifths of the people in 
this island of rapid births and early deaths. If this is 
true, there should be somewhere in the neighborhood of 
20,000 children in the district who should be going to 
school. 

The census of the Ponce district, for 1897, gives 14,394 
persons as the number who can read and write or read 
alone, or 2^^-^-^ % of the population. In the last ten years 
illiteracy in this section has been reduced some 5^ %, but, 
granting that 30 % of the people receive some education, 
there would remain, among the 20,000 children of school 
age, at least 2^%, or 5,000, who attend either public or 
private schools, in securing an education. As a matter of 
fact, a majority of the children of the more well-to-do 
people go to private institutions, under paid tuition, and 
hence even the above estimate of attendance must be 
cut down, by possibly a thousand, to represent those who 
actually derive benefit from the public-school fund. 

With 4,000 children and 42,000 pesos available for edu- 
cation, the cost per child would reach the really liberal rate 
of over $10 a year — more than twice as much as Alabama 
expends on a child, and about two and a half times less 
than is required to educate a little one in New York 
state. If a compulsory school law were in effect, how- 
ever, and the 75 % of the waifs of the poor, who go hun- 
gry, unclean, and in tatters all through childhood and 
youth, and emerge into man's estate in the densest 
ignorance and without mental capacity to ever raise 
themselves above the fifty-centavos-a-day rate of wages, 
were forced to secure some education, it will readily be 
seen how utterly inadequate would be the present school 
appropriation, as it would average then but $1.35 a year 

199 



PUERTO RICO 

for each scholar in Ponce, which city and San Juan are 
the centers of education. In the outlying country dis- 
tricts not above a few cents per possible scholar are ap- 
propriated. 

The school fund of Ponce district is not wisely or eco- 
nomically expended; 8,690 pesos of the local fund are 
annually spent in the rental of schools, which, for the 
most part in the country, are miserable little shacks, 
with a single room so small that not above fifty scholars 
can sit, at one time, within the badly-lighted space, on 
plain unbacked benches, while in the town some of the 
places selected for schools in the narrow streets are wholly 
unsuitable — unsanitary, dark, upon the ground floor, and 
within close seeing and hearing distance of the traffic of 
a busy thoroughfare. Five thousand pesos go for books, 
writing materials, and to caretakers of school buildings, 
while only 20,580 pesos raised by Ponce are used for 
teachers' salaries. 

It may interest the reader to see the salary list : 

I Principal for High School for boys $l,200 

4 Teachers, Elementary, ist class, $720 2,880 

1 Teacher, Elementary School at La Playa 720 

2 Teachers, Elementary, 2d class, $540 1,080 

3 Teachers, Auxiliary, Goto, Canas, and Machuelo Abajo, $360. . 1,080 
19 Teachers, rural schools, at $300 5,700 

I Principal for High School for girls 1,200 

I Teacher, Elementary, ist class, for girls 720 

5 Teachers, 2d class, for girls, at $540 2,700 

3 Teachers, Auxiliary, at $360 1,080 

40 $18,360 

For teachers for the school for the poor, and salaries for special 

branches > 2,220 

$20,580 

It need hardly be pointed out that the teachers who 
receive 300 pesos a year are not intellectual giants, and 

200 



SCHOOLS 

that the methods adopted in teaching are careless, slov- 
enly, and lacking in system. To the hardship of insuffi- 
cient salary is added the mortification of having your 
avocation looked down upon as degrading, for mediaeval- 
ism has not yet been rooted out, and the ofifice of the 
scribe is considered a menial one. 

If fifty teachers are allowed for the district, which as- 
sumes that another looo pesos are paid from the year's 
appropriation, each of the teachers will be compelled to 
instruct some 90 pupils. Alabama with her 41 % illit- 
eracy has a teacher for every 45 scholars, while New York 
with but $^% illiteracy gives a teacher for every 33 pupils. 

In point of fact, one-half of the ninety scholars to a 
teacher are never on hand at once, as the attendance is 
constantly broken by the necessity, or pretext, that the 
little ones must assist the parents to earn a living. Child- 
labor is so universal among the poor (95 % are poverty- 
stricken), and, under tropical suns, it is so much easier for 
indolent parents to command the children to bear the 
brunt of the daily work than to do it themselves, that it 
is only by the persevering effort of the children them- 
selves, who look upon school as a happy recreation, that 
they ever get within the doors of the educational edifices. 
Under these harrowing conditions a child may learn to 
read and write in a few years, but the great majority of 
them never acquire more than the merest smattering. 

The system of teaching pursued in the elementary 
schools is largely an oral one, in which the children chant 
their lessons, as a unit, after the teacher. Tests of in- 
dividual knowledge are seldom made, and competition, 
and merit systems, which are the soul of school advance- 
ment, are unknown. 

The higher branches of a common-school education are 
taught to very few, and the darkness in which Spanish 

201 



PUERTO RICO 

races dwell, with regard to the natural sciences, is glar- 
ingly manifested in all their works of public engineering 
and mechanics, 

San Juan, Ponce, and Mayaguez each supports a school 
for the grown-up poor, and it is said they have met with 
considerable success. 

San Juan has an industrial school, under the protecting 
wing of the church, where some two hundred boys are 
taught, in slipshod fashion, various branches of indus- 
trial mechanics and physics. 

The support for this school, the island Insane Asylum, 
and the Deputaccion Provincial was derived from a 
monthly lottery held in San Juan, in which it is said a 
clear profit of some twenty thousand pesos was made. 

With a view to giving some conception of the illiteracy 
which exists on the island, it may be said that, in a total 
population of 806,708 (census 1887, thought to be very 
defective), only 14 % of the people can read and write or 
read only, or there are 695,328 persons who are compelled 
to make their mark, and to whom a printed page is 
wholly unintelligible. The educated people are gathered 
in the large cities, and hence the percentage of illiteracy 
is much smaller in the towns, while that of the country 
is more profound, until in some rural districts a pall of 
utter ignorance envelops the people which could not be 
greatly exceeded even in the heart of Africa. In the 
Ponce district, where the claim is made that the least illit- 
eracy obtains, there are three barrios, with a combined 
population of 5,500 souls, where but 6^ of the people can 
read or write, and 8,000 more in one barrios where but 8 
or 9 ^ read the words upon a printed page. 

While the condition of ignorance is far-reaching in the 
island today, it may be said that the Puerto Rican young- 
ster possesses the inherent ability to learn readily and 

202 



CHURCHES 

looks forward to schooling as a pleasure. Under a 
proper school system, the intellectual tone of the island 
population may be raised in a generation, from an almost 
bestial condition to a point where the people will become 
average thinking citizens of the United States. Illiteracy 
possesses the advantage — for us as administrators of 
Puerto Rico's future affairs — that we at least will not have 
to overcome deep-rooted race prejudices, either political, 
social, or religious ; the mass of the people lie dormant 
and unthinking, hating only mildly the Spaniard's oppress- 
ive yoke which has ground them down to serfdom in the 
past, and watching with pathetic eyes for that ameliora- 
tion of hardship, promise of which is held out to them by 
their ideal savior, America. 

Churches 

The clergy of the island say that Puerto Rico is a god- 
less country ; that her people live without hope or desire 
of elevation. The people, upon the other hand, retort 
that the holy cloth has been, from time immemorial, dis- 
graced and prostituted in the representatives of the 
church, whom Spain has hired and forced upon them. 

There is probably truth in the assertions of both claim- 
ants, but the real weakness in the ecclesiastical system of 
the island, and the one which has led up to the discords 
of the past, and has fostered vice in the church itself — if 
it does exist — lay in the fact that the church and state 
leaned upon one another in close association, the state 
supporting the church financially, and using her often- 
times as a political lever to further the ends of grasping 
civil officials. Purity in the administration of holy institu- 
tions may not be expected where their representatives 
are directly dependent upon a civil government for their 
support, and the laity, in a country where every politician 

203 



PUERTO RICO 

is looked upon as a trickster, will view the veriest saint 
with suspicion. 

There are seventy-one cathedrals on the island, one in 
every town of consequence, constructed and paid for by 
the central government with taxes collected from the 
people. 

The total appropriation for the church in 1897-98 was 
194,000 pesos, in round figures, or nearly five per cent, of 
the total revenue of the island ; the salary roll for some 
250 men, including a bishop at 9,000 pesos, a dean and an 
archdeacon at 5,500, 11 parochial clergymen' at 1,500 
each, 17 curates at 1,000, 58 at 700, 31 assistant curates at 
600, 85 sacristans at 150, and several priests in charge of 
hermitages and special churches, amounts to 168,000 
pesos, while the remainder of the appropriation goes for 
" materials." 

It will be noted that the average government support for 
each church is over 2,000 pesos per annum, and also that, 
the lowest salary paid, excepting that of the caretakers, 
is 600 pesos a year. The average salary for school teachers, 
who are so badly needed, is but half this amount. 

Beside the salaries paid the clergy, the church fees for 
marriages, burial services, rituals, etc., serve to augment 
the total revenues. 

The life of the clergy seems to have been one of idle- 
ness and almost complete indolence in the past; they 
have never been active factors in an effort to ameliorate 
the depressed condition of the people -, they have never 
been educators, and, as spiritual advisers, their relation 
to the people has apparently been purely perfunctory. 
There have been, of course, exceptions to this rule ; good, 
earnest, honest men, who soon outlived their usefulness, 
if not compliant with the wishes of civil functionaries. 
There are many tales of how Puerto Rican politicians and 

204 



DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGES 

Spanish officials have used the church to foster political 
ends, and many more unpleasant relations, by men who 
are enemies of the church government as it exists, of 
general viciousness, immorality, and grasping for material 
possessions on the part of priests. Some of these stories 
are unfortunately too true, but many of them have been 
made up out of whole cloth. The result has been, how- 
ever, to almost wholly separate the people from the 
church ; a church in which " we dare not send our daugh- 
ters to confession," said one bitter layman. Most of the 
population profess religious sentiments, but church at- 
tendance is restricted to a few women and girls, and, 
whether the opprobrium heaped upon the clergy be de- 
served or not, the stigma cannot now be removed without 
a complete remodeling of the organization, perhaps by 
the church of America. Under the American regime 
which has set in, the church appropriations have already 
been cut off, and reconstruction now rests in the hands 
of the people themselves, as the future support of the 
church is dependent upon the generous spirit of the 
populace. 

Dissolutio7t of Marriages 

There are no civil courts in Puerto Rico in which the 
bonds of marriage may be dissolved. Under the old 
Spanish law, marriage is held to be a holy function per- 
taining to the church alone ; and under the church laws, 
while separation of husband and wife may be granted for 
specified reasons, neither party may again enter into the 
marriage relation so long as both parties live. 

Adultery and maltreatment are punishable under the 
provisions of the criminal code, and may be made a basis 
for separation proceedings before an ecclesiastical tribu- 
nal composed of church authorities, the chief of whom 
is the Archbishop of San Juan. 

205 



PUERTO RICO 

Ecclesiastical or canonical law provides for declaring 
marriage null and void in each of several cases, viz. : First, 
where one of the parties may not legally marry, e. g., a 
priest ; second, where the canonical rules for carrying out 
marriage have not been complied with, e. g., when the 
banns have not been properly published ; third, where 
marriage has been consecrated, but not consummated 
through the physical incapacity of one of the parties. 

Separation has been resorted to, that a division of prop- 
erty might be made by law, and the proper support be 
given the wife by a recalcitrant husband. 

Charitable Institutions 

A most prodigious amount of suffering and disease ex- 
ists among the poor of the island, and, in comparison with 
the number of poverty-stricken and needy people, little 
is done in a public way to relieve the misery and suffering. 

At San Juan, Ponce, and Mayaguez there may be found 
small houses for the destitute poor, aged, and infirm, 
also poor and military hospitals, and physicians to the 
poor; but beyond this, with one or two exceptions, it can 
hardly be said that active measures have ever been taken 
to relieve the sickness and distress visible on every side 
throughout the island. 

Ponce carries an item in her city " budget " of about 
34,000 pesos for charities, and San Juan spends annually 
some 28,000 pesos for the same purpose, or quite as much 
as for school purposes. The homes for the extremely 
poor in these three cities are rather attractive places from 
the outside, but are very barren of interior decorations, 
comfortable furniture, and other necessities which, to the 
American mind, should be present to make the fleeting 
hours of the poor outcasts less burdensome. 

The few charitable organizations seem to exist more in 

206 



CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS 

name than in the activity of their patrons, and no sys- 
tematic attempts are made to distribute clothing and food 
among the needy; though it may be pointed out, inci- 
dentally, that lack of clothing in a tropical climate does 
injury to the modesty of the spectator, rather than hurt 
to the victim of rags. Hunger, though, particularly in 
the larger towns, gnaws the vitals of hundreds of peasants 
every day of their lives, and the enfeebled condition of 
half the populace is due to a constant diet of fruits, which 
are naturally the cheapest foods. 

Along the roadsides and military highways throughout 
the island, one passes mendicants with supplicating hands 
outstretched ; covered with sores, grotesque in swollen 
limbs of elephantiasis, carrying huge goiters protruding 
from the neck, sightless from unmentionable diseases, or 
wan and wasted from anaemic malarias. 

The writer never saw a Spaniard pass one of these 
creatures without throwing toward the shriveled hand a 
copper coin, and yet the almsgiver may be the alcalde 
of the near-by town, where, in the dark confines of a foul 
cell in the city hall, two men lie dying upon the damp, 
green-coated bricks, rolled in their own filth. Nothing 
is done for them ; what need ? They are there to die ; 
better so. This pictured contrast is no feat of imagina- 
tion, for, in almost every interior town on the island, one 
may usually find a number of wretched objects lying upon 
brick floors in the basements of the town buildings, with- 
out covering or pillows, suffering from racking fevers or 
frightful disorders, brought there by friends or relatives 
almost equally as poor, and left to die in the hands of the 
city authorities, who, while they have no money to save 
an ebbing life — and no doctor will come without his fee, 
— do bury the pauper dead in the cemeteries, without 
coffin and without ceremony. 

207 



PUERTO RICO 

Assurances are always given that these dying people 
are fed, yet, at Aguas Buenas, for eighteen hours no one 
went near a poor old man lying, with a crust of hard 
bread clutched in his dying hand, upon the floor, in a foul 
atmosphere, beneath the city judge's office, until an 
American officer made an investigation and threatened to 
put all the city officials under arrest. It was in this same 
town that sleeping American soldiers were given night- 
mares by the terrible cries for water of a man who was in 
the last stages of some dropsical affection, and yet locked 
into a windowless cell in one of the town buildings. 

At Caguas, as many as four men were seen at one time in 
the mortuary house outside the cemetery gate, unkempt, 
uncared for, and dying by inches ; two, beyond recovery, 
lay on the brick floor, one on a bench, and the fourth on 
the gruesome white slab of the dead-house. The sexton 
placidly awaited their demise, and said no doctor could 
be had, as they did not have money to employ one. 

It is difficult to understand what instinct inclines a man 
to distribute alms upon the street, and yet lets him, with 
callous soul, gaze with unlifted, unassisting hand upon 
wretched scenes like these; but the same bland, polite, 
obsequious man will be found throughout the island, who 
distributes his coppers in public, will go to any pains to 
serve his foreign equal, but will stare unmoved upon 
such human miseries. It is here we discover the inher- 
ent, the inbred, brutality of Spain. 

There is a broad, deep field in Puerto Rico for Ameri- 
can charitable societies, and limited assistance of the poor 
will be more far-reaching in its effects, over a given area, 
than in the United States, at the same time doing more 
to win the undying gratitude of the great army of the 
down-trodden, and firm alliance with America, than years 
of liberal legislation. 

208 



CHAPTER XIX 

BURIALS AND CEMETERIES 

THE last journey to the grave is always replete with 
sadness, but nowhere does one feel the deep pathos 
of funeral scenes as in Spanish - American countries. 
There goes some poor fellow down the glaring, sunlit 
street, all his troubles o'er in silent death, borne in his 
rude coffin on the shoulders of four barefooted, ragged- 
clothed, trotting men ; or perhaps it is a slip of a girl, born 
to penury and hardship, reared to young-womanhood with 
never a day that she knew a full meal ; and yet in life her 
black eyes smiled and she was happy in her simple pleas- 
ures. Yes, it is the girl; for the meager, black-cotton 
shroud, tacked closely to the unlidded cofifin, clingingly 
molds her upturned face and childish, budding form. 

Going to her last resting-place, down the dusty, white- 
hot street, under the lazy scrutiny of corner loungers, 
past the little stores where, in moments of great happi- 
ness in life, she had spent her few centavos on a checkered 
handkerchief; it was in there, where the tiny panniered 
horse stands patiently and with hanging head before the 
door, that Lorenzo once bought her the little tawdry 
heart she wears on her cold breast today. What matters 
it now! Lorenzo loves another girl, but it was such a 
happy moment when he — great strong fellow that he was 
— called her " corazon mio. " 

No one seems to care ; she is dead, they will bury her, 

209 



PUERTO RICO 

that is all there is to it. No, not all, for a wrinkled, 
weazen-faced old woman sits in the darkest corner of her 
tiny, palm-thatched hut, and rocks back and forth, with 
heavy, hot tears dropping on her withered, enfeebled 
hands, and behind the coffin, which rises and falls like a 
last lullaby, under the rhythmic step of the bearers, a 
boy — her little brother — stumbles blindly along, trying 
not to cry, for fear the grown-ups will think him less 
a man, though his eyes are hot and red with straining. 

She is to be buried within the enclosure of the great 
brick wall of the cemetery, not in any of the beautiful 
tombs and niches, with their garlands of rare porcelain 
roses ; not under the clustering, flowering bushes, or near 
the slender funereal tree, where she had thought, in her 
childish way, that it would be so sweet to lie at rest, but 
out in the pauper half, among the trampled weeds and 
in the earth sown with gruesome bones and skulls. It is 
a horrid place, under the festering sun, covered with rot- 
ting bones of dead long gone, heartlessly dug up by the 
keepers — the graveyard ghouls. And yet they are not to 
blame, for two centuries of poor dead lie buried in this 
little plot. Two years, two whole years, they have the 
right to remain unmolested in their shallow, muddy beds, 
pelted by the torrential rains and fiercely burned by the 
shimmering heat, and then ; — well, the newly dead must 
go under ground, and old bones offer no resistance to a 
spade. 

The boy lies prone on the rough clods — not a man now 
— heartbroken and convulsed, and his hands, working 
nervously in the rank weeds, dislodge the whitened frag- 
ment of a skull. The rude pine box, slatted below and un- 
covered above, rests unevenly on the ground beside him, 
for they thought her such a little girl they dug the grave 
short by two inches. They lower her now on coarse 

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BURIALS AND CEMETERIES 

ropes of grass, and the sexton picks up a clod of earth, 
with bowed head presses it to his lips, and it falls rudely 
on her sheeted face as he casts it from his hand, mutter- 
ing, " God rest you, little one." The shovels rasp and 
scrape against each other for a little and it is done. The 
boy never moves, even when the shingled board bearing 
her name is thrust into the soft, new mound. 

The ineffable sadness of these pauper funerals, as they 
pass hurriedly through the streets day after day — one 
might almost say hour after hour — wrings the heart of 
the onlooker, and forces tears to the eyes in spite of one- 
self. Yet the multitude of Puertoriqueftos see nothing 
in them to rouse even a fleeting sigh that life should be 
so narrow, so confined, for the poverty-stricken, so little 
at its end. Perhaps, after all, it is wasted sentiment, for 
death brings the poor release from many, many hardships. 

One sees on the island, in any town, a hundred funerals 
where the cofifin is hurriedly carried through the streets 
on the shoulders of men, without mourners, to be buried 
in the pauper's plot, without ceremony and without 
clergy, to one where the priests move down the narrow 
street in funeral march, chanting the requiem before the 
slowly-moving hearse, drawn by caparisoned horses, and 
followed by weeping relatives. 

I have seen, in Caguas, three burials of paupers in one 
day, where even the rude box, consisting of four boards, 
slatted on the bottom and without top, was denied the 
dead as a last resting-place, and the body was calmly 
turned out of its narrow confines to drop heavily, face 
downward, in the four-foot hole. 

A Catholic Puertoriquefio, poor though he may be, 
must rest within the brick-walled enclosure of some one 
of the seventy-one city cemeteries of the island. If the 
creed differs or he be a freethinker, outside the holy gates 

211 



PUERTO RICO 

he lies, buried behind the wall, obscure, unknown. All 
dead in the cities or in the country must be buried at 
these places, and it is no uncommon sight to watch, high 
on the slippery trails, reliefs of men trudging through the 
mud toward town, bearing laboriously a dead body. 
No municipal provision is made for defraying pauper 
burial-expenses, and the transporting must needs be a 
work of love. The graves are dug by sextons, who 
are paid minute salaries and eke out an existence by 
small fees and tips given them by the owners of sar- 
cophagi and niches. To be buried within the enclosure 
requires a certificate from the parish priest, stating that 
the deceased was a Catholic. 

Some of the funerals of the wealthy are functions of 
great solemnity and ostentation. In a magnificent fu- 
neral of this kind, the body is carried in state from the 
house to the cathedral, with chanting, black-skirted 
fathers accompanying the hearse. At the church, a 
solemn ceremony takes place, which is deeply impressive, 
and then the march to the grave proceeds, to the mur- 
muring chant and the dirgeful tolling of bells. At the 
grave is gathered half the city, and employed orators 
extol the virtues of the deceased, and thank the as- 
sembled multitude for the goodness of heart which 
prompts them to do honor to the dead. 

For church services, a funeral costs from fifteen to one 
hundred pesos, controlled by the amount of chanting 
done, whether it takes place during the march from the 
house to the cathedral, from the cathedral to the ceme- 
tery, or both. At the funeral of the young, a band is 
often secured. 

The price of lots in the cemeteries varies in different 
towns; at Ponce, they sell for twelve pesos a square 
meter. The niches, which are built along the brick walls 

212 




MORTUARY DECORATIONS AT PONCE 



BURIALS AND CEMETERIES 

in tiers of four or five, are owned by the municipalities 
and rented for a term of years, or sold outright. A hun- 
dred pesos buys one for eternity, twenty-five pesos insures 
a peaceful rest for five years, but Providence must take 
care of the bones after this, if relatives fail to advance 
the next instalment, for the city won't, and deliberately 
hauls the skeletons from the vaults and casts them into 
brick pits made for the purpose, in the corners of the 
yard. It is a hideous collection of heterogeneous, dis- 
articulated vertebrae which has accumulated in these 
corners during past years; crumbling to fine dust at the 
bottom, and fed constantly by new specimens at the top. 

The mortuary decorations are unique in these ceme- 
teries, consisting of wreaths of French porcelain flowers 
among the handsomest, and frosted metal ones in the 
cheaper. Often the photograph of the deceased graces 
the front of his crypt, in a metal frame. Images of 
Mother Mary, crucifixes, and doves form another series. 
Fresh-cut flowers are seldom seen, but rare foliage plants, 
of gorgeous color, vie with flowering, climbing vines and 
beautiful tropical shrubbery. 

Most of these cemeteries — whose limits were deter- 
mined by the San Juan government — have long since 
become cramped and inadequate quarters for the dead, 
and, in some places, they might even be designated as 
noisome pest-holes, dangerous, in their infectious exhala- 
tions, to the living in the close-by towns. It takes less 
than three years at Ponce to make the round of digging 
new graves, from end to end of the pauper lot, and conse- 
quently this hallowed ground is strewn with human bones. 

Some provision for the decent burial of paupers, and im- 
mediate enlargement and removal of cemeteries to greater 
distances from the cities, are questions which need 
prompt attention at the hands of American authorities. 

213 



CHAPTER XX 

THE MONEY OF THE ISLAND 

PUERTO RICO has been the financial plaything of 
Spain in the past. Many different monetary 
schemes have been foisted on the unresisting island, 
which — unlike its sister province Cuba — has never had 
the courage to revolt against the outrages and imposi- 
tions of political machinations. 

The financial system has always been on a silver basis, 
though it is said that thirty years ago an exceedingly 
small amount of gold coin was in circulation. 

Prior to 1874, the silver coin of the United States was 
the standard and current medium of exchange, but in 
that year a trick was played on poor Puerto Rico by a 
French banking firm, headed by a man named Hermua. 
The slaves of the island were freed by a governmental 
edict, and indemnity bonds were issued by Spain to the 
former slave-holders, payable upon presentation, at a 
definite amount per black head. Then, as now, the land- 
holders — very few in proportion to the total population — 
held the major portion of the money in the island, the 
slave getting nothing for his labor, and the poor man 
practically living from hand to mouth. 

To meet this bond issue the Spanish government re- 
sorted to a cash-raising scheme, by which an arrangement 
with the French banker Hermua and a few of his banking 
friends was effected; this firm agreeing to pay off the 

214 



THE MONEY OF THE ISLAND 

slave indemnity in silver coin. What nation's silver cur- 
rency was to be the medium was not stated in the con- 
tract, and consequently Mexico's silver dollars were used, 
which possessed actually more weight in silver than the 
United States silver dollars, though worth only some 
sixty-two cents. The result was the flooding of Puerto 
Rico with depreciated Mexican silver, through which an 
immense profit was secured by the French firm, and 
possibly by the official circles of the lawmakers of Spain. 

The steps which naturally followed were the paying for 
all labor in cheap Mexican silver, by the limited number 
of large money-holders in the island, the hoarding of 
American silver, and its ultimate exchange for Mexican 
silver, which to all intents and purposes expanded, for 
the time being, the currency of the island, and made it 
possible for landowners to pay all their debts in Mexican 
silver, at an apparent profit to themselves. 

Little thought seems to have been given to the com- 
plications which would arise in foreign exchange, but for 
that matter it is hardly probable that the tide of cheaper 
money could have been stemmed, as the natural law is 
for dearer money to disappear by hoarding, or in exchange 
with foreign countries. It is said that many United 
States silver pieces were punctured to prevent their leav- 
ing the island, but it is difficult to see what beneficial 
result could arise from recourse to such a scheme. In 
two years' time the silver of Puerto Rico had changed 
from the United States to the Mexican silver basis. 

For twenty years the Mexican silver reigned supreme. 
There was a subsidiary copper currency, which was Span- 
ish, but aside from this, all money was Mexican silver. 
By 1894 the Spanish government had evolved a new 
financial intrigue which was to produce results advan- 
tageous to the official machine. All Mexican silver was 

215 



PUERTO RICO 

called in by the home government and a temporary paper 
exchange-note was issued, payable in a new silver cur- 
rcHcy to be called the Puerto Rican peso. It was claimed 
to be distinctly honorable and patriotic for the treasury 
department of Spain to desire a silver piece for her colo- 
nies which should bear the stamp of the ruling country. 

In round numbers, six million Mexican dollars were 
called in, and six million pesos were issued from the re- 
minting. The outrage lay in the fact that instead of 
each coin weighing as much as the original piece turned 
in, the new peso was almost a sixth lighter in wdght, mak- 
ing a rake-off for the Spanish government of over a million, 
not counting the few odd hundred thousand dollars which 
were never paid. The uncomplaining islanders meekly 
accepted the new coin, without even a formal protest. 

It was then made a penal offense to import the Mexi- 
can dollar to Puerto Rico, and the few remaining pieces 
had to be carefully examined as to date before being ac- 
cepted in commercial exchange. 

For four years the peso has been the sole money of 
the island, but a new crisis has been reached today, by 
the advent of the American army in the island, and by the 
change of government. The new problem has perturbed 
the native population from end to end of the island, and 
a condition of unrest exists, never before apparent during 
the many money jugglings which have hitherto been per- 
petrated. 

A few days after General Miles had landed his troops 
on the southern coast of Puerto Rico, he passed a man- 
datory order, as military commander, that the prevailing 
rate of exchange should be two to one — that is, two 
Puerto Rican pesos for one American silver dollar — on 
the assumption that a peso was worth in bullion value 
less than half of one dollar, backed by a gold reserve in 

216 



THE MONEY OF THE ISLAND 

our Treasury. This was an apparently easy solution of 
the currency problem of Puerto Rico, unbacked as she 
was and is now by a superior money, but the righteous- 
ness and wisdom of such short cuts in intricate financial 
tangles remain to be proven. 

The six million silver pesos on the island have never, 
to any extent, found their way into foreign exchange, 
but have been confined solely to the island, representing, 
for many commodities, a definite purchasing power quite 
on a par with American silver. This unique condition 
of affairs is largely due to the lack of a banking system 
approved by the Spanish government, and to a system of 
differential duties which favored Spain in every transac- 
tion, causing the people of Puerto Rico to import from 
Spain practically all the necessities of life, while the ex- 
port trade from the island to other countries was paid in 
bills of exchange on the Spanish bank. It was a wheel 
within a wheel — taxation from the home government was 
quite sufficient to balance the profitable export trade with 
the imports from Spain in such a way that silver pesos 
never got farther away than the bank of Spain, from 
which they were placed in circulation again by the pay- 
ment of the army and officials on the island, and by road, 
harbor, and fortification improvements carried on for the 
benefit of military and naval operations. Within the last 
few months the Puerto Rican peso has been honored for 
the first time by Spain — from necessity — as the returning 
Spanish army has carried home, in wages and plunder, 
an unknown but large quantity of this silver, and further 
the bank of San Juan, which was a repository of private 
funds and island municipal and school reserves, has been 
milked by Spain's officials. Ponce alone has lost, it is 
said, some sixty thousand pesos which were withdrawn 
and carried to Spain without due warrant. 

217 



PUERTO RICO 

The amount of actual money was so weighty in charac- 
ter and so limited in Puerto Rico, that the banks of San 
Juan and Ponce, by permission of the respective munici- 
pal authorities of these towns, issued paper notes, negoti- 
able and redeemable upon demand, with which the local 
business might be transacted. Neither of these paper 
issues had any protection from the government, and they 
were accepted hesitatingly or not at all by people residing 
outside of these cities. A false inflation of the paper 
currency of either bank was presumably prevented by a 
municipal law which demanded a monthly statement of 
the assets, liabilities, and outstanding paper money. As 
any suspicion that these banks were using all their avail- 
able funds, and not holding sufficient reserve in silver 
to meet the outstanding paper, would have resulted in a 
disastrous run upon them, it is difficult to understand 
what advantage the issue of paper obligations possessed, 
above the convenience of supplying a portable certificate 
in place of the weighty silver piece. One, five, and ten 
pesos were the usual issues, though at Ponce larger paper 
certificates, in the nature of a bond issue, transferable, 
but drawing an annual interest of one-half of one per 
cent., were held by the larger depositors. 

I am told by native financial authorities that when, for 
specific purposes, the peso came, from time to time, to be 
exchanged for gold, the accepted rate was one hundred 
and fifty in favor of gold, though at times it has been as 
low as one hundred and twelve. Again, it is said that 
today, since the honoring of the peso in Spain, it is pos- 
sible, by shipping the silver peso to the United States, to 
arrange a draft exchange for Spanish gold at one hun- 
dred and fifty, with an added five per cent, commission, 
creating thus an exchange rate of one hundred and fifty- 
five. If this is strictly true, then the rate arbitrarily set 

2i8 



THE MONEY OF THE ISLAND 

by General Miles would seem to be unfair, and likely to 
prove a dire hardship to a million of helpless people, 
to whom we are holding out the promise of future pros- 
perity, and the happiness of a broad-gauge government, 
such as they have never before known. 

In spite of the edict and the fact that all the custom- 
houses on the island in the hands of military collectors 
of customs, as well as the new post-office, hold that a 
peso, paid in duties and postage, is only half the value of 
an American dollar, the business men of the island have 
been able to run this rate down as low as one hundred 
and fifty, and refuse to give in return for an American 
dollar more than one peso and a half Puerto Rican. 

Many interesting complications have arisen, due to this 
varying exchange. For example. Ponce, which is perhaps 
the most Americanized city on the island in ways and 
means, led the crusade against two to one, and has set 150 
as the prevailing rate. San Juan, the capital, on the 
northern side, was slower in scaling down, and paid, for 
a week after the evacuation, 180 for American gold, 175 
for all kinds of our paper certificates, and 165 for our 
silver. Why they should discriminate against one form of 
our currency more than another in San Juan remains to 
be explained. The rate there today has been reduced to 
a uniform 160, or 10 centavos more is paid at the capital 
than at Ponce for the American dollar. 

At Caguas the military commander demanded 175, 
notifying the alcalde that all stores would be closed 
unless this rate was allowed, and so it was paid under 
protest, until about November ist. The merchants all 
rightly insisted that they were injured by being forced to 
buy their supplies and to exchange their American money 
in San Juan at the rate of 160, while their selling-price 
had been unjustly lowered some 10 % by their having to 

219 



PUERTO RICO 

accept American silver at 175 upon demand. Colonel 
Eddy of the Forty-seventh New York has ordered the 
alcalde of Caguas to see that the same form of exchange 
is maintained, based on the precedent set by the Fourth 
Ohio and the First Kentucky, but the order has not 
been enforced, and the prevailing rate has become 160. 

At the island of Vieques, the exchange has been kept 
at two to one, by the order of volunteer captains in 
charge of single companies, though the natives of this 
island are obliged to purchase in cities like Ponce and 
San Juan, at a high rate, and sell at home to Americans 
at a loss of 25 %. 

These varying exchanges, pulled down by commercial 
natives and forced up by military orders, have caused a 
deep and pervading condition of unrest in the native's 
mind, as he has no stable medium of exchange, and can- 
not have one until the Congress of the United States 
shall have settled this problem. 

The money-holder of the island desires that his silver 
shall remain as near as possible at a par with American 
silver; the few natives with large debts to pay wish that 
two to one might be the prevailing rate until the liquida- 
tion of their liabilities. Every American soldier is glad 
to get two pesos for a single dollar, and the postmaster 
grumbles because American silver is paid in for postage 
stamps with greater frequency than hitherto, and, in con- 
sequence, he is no longer able to pay his board bills in 
Spanish money, at a decided saving to himself. 

It is possible that criticism and scandal may arise from 
the present monetary condition of the island, and un- 
fortunately the most upright of men in public places are 
in a position to be questioned as to their disinterested- 
ness and integrity. As an example, it may be said that 
some 15,000 pesos were placed in the hands of a well- 

220 



THE MONEY OF THE ISLAND 

known firm of brokers doing business in Puerto Rico, 
who were selected by the President as Treasury agents, 
and as a repository of customs collections. This firm 
agreed to favor all army officers, upon demand, with an 
exchange of two to one. This they did for several days, 
and then posted a notice that hereafter i6o would be the 
rate, explaining to military men that the original amount 
of Puerto Rican silver deposited with them had become 
exhausted. It is quite likely that this was true, but if it 
was not, then this firm, which is only under obligation to 
return either the sums deposited with them in the original 
coin or their equivalent — half the amount in United 
States currency, — has made by the transaction forty cen- 
tavos on every dollar deposited. 

The collectors of customs have kept long lists of names 
of military officers who desired to take advantage of the 
two-to-one valuation, and have personally disbursed their 
funds in exchange for American notes. Much complaint 
is heard in the ranks that a favored few are receiving this 
exchange, while the majority are forced to accept the rate 
set by the native tradespeople. Every customs official 
and every postmaster is open to the ugly imputation that 
he is conducting a brokerage business on his own behalf. 
There is nothing to prevent his doing so. 

The prices of many commodities have risen in Puerto 
Rico, probably owing to the fact that the shopkeepers 
feel the need of protecting themselves against the new 
exchange in some way ; it may be because of their ability 
to get more money out of the freer-handed Americans. 
Both reasons are given by the soldiers who have lived on 
the island since the occupation, and it is further said 
that two prices exist, a higher one for the American and 
a lower one for the native, but the storekeepers deny 
both assertions. 

221 



PUERTO RICO 

While it is probably true that the natives desire to 
reap as great a harvest of money as possible from the 
American curio-hunter, the matter of supply and demand 
is naturally controlling the situation. Never before has 
the demand for almost everything produced in Puerto 
Rico been so great. The Spanish soldier got eight pesos 
a month — when he was paid — while the ordinary private 
in our army gets a little over $15, or, at the prevailing rate 
of exchange, three times the salary of the Spaniard, and 
it is paid regularly and spent freely. The Spanish officers 
received smaller salaries than our officers, and besides 
had the habit — most disastrous to their tradesmen — of 
ordering on credit and never paying; on the other hand, 
our officers are better livers, demand larger meals, and 
buy everything they see which is new and unique, paying 
promptly as they go. 

The solution of this difficult money problem lies with 
Congress, and, by quick and decisive action, our legisla- 
tors may relieve a condition which is fast making the 
people of our new province dissatisfied. 

It may be pointed out that a serious injury would be 
done the Puertoriquefios if Congress were to legislate 
upon the financial situation from a standpoint of bullion 
value. The peso is a little lighter than our dollar, and it 
is said that it is of less fineness, while its actual bullion 
value is said to be about 46 cents at the present time. It 
differs from our dollar, however, weight for weight, fine- 
ness for fineness, only something like 10 %. 

If the bullion value alone were to be allowed, the 
money of Puerto Rico would be suddenly contracted by 
one-half; that is, a people today possessing six million 
silver pieces, with which they purchase their comforts 
and pay the laborer his daily wage, would tomorrow be 
reduced to three million dollars. Men who now are fairly 

222 



THE MONEY OF THE ISLAND 

well off would then be poor, with but one-half their 
accumulated savings. 

It may be argued that a financial readjustment must 
be passed through in Puerto Rico, and that prevailing 
prices will increase or decline to meet changes in money 
values, but the fact that Puerto Rico has had but six 
million pesos to carry on the commercial transactions of 
a population of a million souls, of which amount one-half 
is held by two banks, should not be lost sight of. The 
dearth of money has been the curse of the island, and 
among a large proportion of the poorer element, the 
primitive method of exchanging commodity for commod- 
ity has been resorted to, whereby the poor man suffered, 
as usual, being forced to take, in return for his agricul- 
tural products, whatever might be offered him, in manu- 
factured articles, by his more opulent neighbor, the 
tradesman. 

Under such circumstances, any policy which tends to 
still further decrease the purchasing power of their silver, 
or contract their circulating medium, must do a serious 
injustice to the natives of this island, to whom we offer 
the protection of a liberal government. It also means 
the crushing out of commercial activity among the in- 
digenous population, and the aggrandizement of every 
monied American who may desire to invest his capital 
in this rich and fertile region. 

As financiers, are we willing to further oppress a people 
who have suffered much already at the hands of rapa- 
cious rulers ? Rather, as generous Americans, we should 
seek to so legislate as to supply the needs and insure the 
commercial success of these new wards of our nation. 

An equable solution of the problem, and one which 
may be reached with no particular generosity on the part 
of our country, lies in reminting, as soon as possible, 

223 



PUERTO RICO 

the Puerto Rican pesos into silver dollars bearing the 
American eagle. Allowing 386 grains of silver for the 
Puerto Rican peso and 412^ grains for the American 
dollar, there is a difference of some 8 %. A fair mintage 
charge could hardly bring the difference between the two 
pieces up to more than 1$ %• If such a proposition were 
to be considered and such a law enacted, Puerto Rico 
would suffer a 15 ^ depreciation of her currency in remint- 
age, securing in exchange a stable financial system en- 
dorsed by the government of the United States. 

Unless we repudiate Puerto Rico's silver, any plan 
which is adopted must necessarily result in the ultimate 
absorption of the present currency of the island by the 
United States Treasury. This money will be returned 
to our Treasury, through the custom-houses and post-of- 
fices, at the present high rate of profit to our government 
— which now receives, through an arbitrary ruling, two 
pieces of their silver in exchange for each one of its own, 
though, value for value in bullion, their respective values 
differ but a few cents — or it will be returned after brokers 
and bankers and speculators have each secured a margin 
of gain. 

Spain has been held to be a robber because, in 1894, 
she recoined the Mexican silver dollar in current circula- 
tion into a lighter piece bearing her stamp, appropriating 
the margin for her own enrichment. What argument can 
be advanced to defend our government against the sever- 
est criticism for having, through military power, set an 
arbitrary rate of exchange, whereby every peso collected 
at fifty cents by our Treasury may be reminted, after the 
addition of five cents' worth of silver, into one of our own 
silver dollars ? 



CHAPTER XXI 

REVENUES AND TAXES 

A CURSORY glance at the revenue system of Puerto 
Rico, and a comparison of the annual amount raised 
with the population, would not lead one to believe that 
the island inhabitants were heavily taxed, but careful 
study of the commercial and economic condition of affairs 
reveals the fact that the lightness of the burden is only 
apparent. 

In 1897-98 the " Official Budget " of the island shows 
a gross revenue of almost 4,000,000 pesos, and an expend- 
iture of something over 3,500,000, or a surplus of nearly 
500,000 pesos. Granting the population to be over 800,- 
000 people, the actual central government tax (exclusive 
of district and municipal taxes) is less than five pesos per 
capita, as against over $7 per capita in the United States 
in 1898. It must be remembered, however, that the 
earning capacity of the poorer 80 per cent, of our citizens 
is nearly five times as great per capita as in the same 
proportion of Puerto Rico's population, where the aver- 
age annual wages are little above 75 pesos. The money 
in circulation, per capita, in the United States was $24.66 
in 1898, while in Puerto Rico, for the same year, it was but 
seven and a half pesos. We import, of dutiable articles 
(principally luxuries, purchased by the wealthy), but $5.66 
per capita, and pay with these imposts, in normal times, 
one-third of our federal expenses. In 1896, Puerto Rico 

IS 

225 



PUERTO RICO 

imported dutiable commodities (mainly necessities of life) 
amounting to twenty-two and a half pesos per capita, and 
paid one-half of the island expenses, or four times as 
much per head, in money valuation, with only a gain of 
a proportionate one-sixth in defraying the expenses of 
the government. We pay the rest of our government 
expenses principally by internal revenues, except in war 
times, on luxuries, while the island raises hers by direct 
taxation on property, personal and real. 

As the form of taxation in Puerto Rico and her relation 
to the home government were similar, in some phases, to 
those in vogue in our own states, we may compare her 
revenue proportionately to that of our wealthiest state, ' 
New York. 

The state tax in New York averages, for state, county, 
and municipality, about $5 per capita — her state tax alone 
is about $2.50 for each person. The San Juan district 
of Puerto Rico, in 1897, raised 598,483 pesos, while the 
Ponce district collected 287,754 pesos, and Mayaguez a 
little more than the latter. The writer is informed that, 
in round numbers, the revenue from the eight districts 
and seventy-one municipalities is nearly 2,000,000 pesos, 
which, added to the general revenue already mentioned, 
brings the total taxation up to 6,000,000 pesos, or some ^ 
seven and a half pesos per capita. It should be remem- 
bered that Spain demanded, for the support of the central 
government, twice as much money as it takes to support 
the cities and districts, while in New York the state re- 
quires but 14 per cent, for the total expenses, and the 
remainder is devoted to cities and counties. 

Apparently the average yearly tax per head in New 
York ($15) is double that of the Puertoriquefio (seven 
and a half pesos) ; but, to prove the greater tax-paying 
capacity of New Yorkers, it may be shown that one per- 

226 



REVENUES AND TAXES 

son in every ten is employed in manufacturing industries 
alone, as laborer or skilled artisan, and receives an average 
yearly wage of $600, or $50 a month. For over eight- 
tenths of the population of Puerto Rico there is now no 
industrial opportunity, except as agricultural laborers 
at the low wage of fifty or sixty centavos a day, and then 
but five months' work in the year. Of this proportion, 
which represents about 650,000 men, women, and chil- 
dren, not over two-fifths can earn this wage of seventy- 
five pesos a year. In New York, one-tenth of the 
population supports one-fourth of the population, with 
an aggregate wage of about $330,000,000, while in Puerto 
Rico a little less than one-third of the population supports 
over three-fourths of the population, with a total wage 
of 19,500,000 pesos. It is difficult to imagine a more 
pitiable commercial and industrial condition. 

One hundred and fifty thousand people pay the direct 
taxes of the island and the major portion of the imposts, 
the very poor people contributing their share only in a 
head tax, a market tax, and in the purchase of imported 
cottons and quinine. Less than 50,000 estate-owners 
probably shoulder one-half the burden of the annual 
revenue, which would be nearly sixty pesos per capita. 

Now as to the items in the island " Budget " : In 1897- 
98, 1,252,377 pesos were required for the Army; 222,668 
pesos for the Navy and Marine ; 423,818 pesos for Church 
and Justice; 878,178 for Public Works; 260,800 for 
Hacienda, and 498,501 for General Obligations — a total 
of 3,536,342 pesos. The total revenue was 3,939,500 
pesos. 

The Army, Navy, and Church cost the people 1,668,- 
655 pesos (193,610 pesos went to the Church), or nearly 
one-half the expenses of the island, while for public im- 
provements — for a country in direst need of good roads, 

227 



PUERTO RICO 

better harbors, and transportation facilities — but 878,178 
pesos were appropriated, while even then a commensurate 
expenditure is not evident, the major portion having been 
expended upon the few military roads, in the salaries of 
caretakers and laborers. Included in Puerto Rico's obli- 
gations were expenses, divided proportionally among 
the colonies, for supporting the " Ultra Mar " or Colo- 
nial Ministry Department at Madrid, and, in recent years, 
a share of the expenses for carrying on the war with 
Cuba. 

It is difficult to see that the taxes drawn from the 
sinews of the island were ever of any benefit to her 
people, the beneficiaries being a great corps of Spanish 
officials, clerks, soldier police (Orden Publico and Guardia 
Civil), and priests, who, when their pockets were silver- 
lined and opportunity offered, returned to the mother 
country. It is true that the greater portion of the money 
was spent again in the island by the government's ser- 
vants, but, even granting this as desirable, there yet 
remains the fact that the tax-paying public was sup- 
porting a vast army of rapacious, shiftless, and often 
vicious men, whose espionage was rather to be deplored, 
since it usually led to greater personal hardships. 

About one-half the island tax was derived from customs 
duties, the remainder from a stamp duty on all legal 
paper (which was sold by authorized officials), and legal 
documents, such as papers of legislation, corporation, 
and all official business; a tax on transfers and sales of 
property and mortgages — one and a half per cent, on 
sales, one per cent, on mortgages; also a tax on wills 
running from one-fourth to eight per cent., depending 
on the relationship between testator and heirs. It may 
be said here that the recorder of deeds had vested in 
him power of censorship, which permitted him to deter- 

228 



REVENUES AND TAXES 

mine whether transfers of property could be legally made. 
Opponents to the old methods insist that it was a com- 
mon thing for recorders to grow wealthy in a few years, 
as it required a bribe with an elastic scale to secure the 
sanction of the recorder to a sale and transfer of real 
estate. 

The postal and telegraph systems were in the hands of 
the government, and the collected tariff formed part of 
the revenues, but the expenditures for maintaining these 
departments have always been greatly in excess of the 
receipts, as their principal value seemed to lie in furnish- 
ing a host of clerical positions for agents of the govern- 
ment, who acted as spies and kept a close scrutiny over 
messages and mail matter. 

Next there was a direct tax of five per cent, on real 
estate, the appraising of values being done at San Juan; 
this valuation also served as a basis for assessing the local 
district and municipal tax, which amounted to from 
seven and a half to ten per cent., and lastly a " Cedula 
Personal," or certificate of identity, which every person 
was required to have, and which ranged in price (depend- 
ing upon official or civil position, business, and income) 
from twenty centavos for peons to twenty-five pesos for 
those with an income of over 20,000 pesos per annum. 

The municipal taxes were raised by fees for licenses on 
all commercial and industrial pursuits; an " Arvitrios," 
or charge for market-houses, butchering, and city prop- 
erty; fees on the insurance of public certificates, water 
rents, public dances and functions, theatrical perform- 
ances, fines, etc. ; also an " Octroi " or duty on consump- 
tion — every article used for food, beverage, or fuel was 
taxed, and the fees paid by the seller. This tax worked 
a great hardship to the peasant who brought in a few 
pesos' worth of produce to the markets from his little 

229 



PUERTO RICO 

garden patch in the hills. If the above taxes were not 
sufficient to meet district and municipal expenses, a final 
and direct tax on personal and real estate was permissible, 
up to any percentage necessary to meet the deficiency. 

Each municipality had to contribute to the support of 
an island organization of administrative character, known 
as the " Deputaccion Provincial," an amount deter- 
mined by the Governor-General, and apportioned among 
them according to their population and importance — 
Ponce's share was, in 1897, 14,326 pesos. This organiza- 
tion had charge of some public works of small importance ; 
the civil institute (a sort of high school, the best on 
the island), the island insane asylum, an industrial 
school recently established in connection with an asylum 
for orphans at San Juan, and the jails; it also had 
authority to advise the Governor-General on all adminis- 
trative problems. The major portion of the expenses 
of this " Deputaccion" and the institutions controlled 
thereby was met by a government lottery scheme, which, 
without force, drew forty thousand pesos a month, prin- 
cipally from the pockets of those who could ill afford it. 

The cost of gathering the revenues was greatly aug- 
mented by a system of separate collection for state and 
municipal taxes; the state's share being secured by one 
set of collectors and the town's by another. 

At the present time (1898) there is much complaint 
among island citizens, for the reason that, though the 
Spanish Orden Publico (common police) of some 2,000 
men, and the Guardia Civil (civil guard), who numbered 
4,000, ceased to exist as paid organizations at the raising 
of the United States flag, and the church is no longer 
supported, the taxes have not been reduced by the new 
American masters. There will be justice in this criticism 
when we are able to withdraw our 6,000 soldiers — as we 

230 



REVENUES AND TAXES 

should do so soon as quiet civil administration intervenes 
— who are now doing police duty on the island and who 
cost us, for their support, fully as much per annum as 
the old Spanish appropriation provided. 

The reader who has followed the windings of Puerto 
Rican taxation will most likely feel, with her citizens, 
that the burden, compared with the commercial activity 
and prosperity of the island, has been excessive, and that, 
when the meager benefits which have accrued to the 
population in improvements during the past are taken 
into consideration, they may well claim to have struggled 
under a galling yoke of oppression. 

It is the right of every taxed community to demand 
that it shall receive, in return for its support of the gov- 
ernment represented by an expenditure of sinew and 
labor, security of person and property and a commensur- 
ate advance in ease of living through internal improve- 
ments carried on for the good of the most people. None 
of these blessings have Puertoriqueflos ever received at 
the hands of the parent government, except, perhaps, 
during a short period at the beginning of the century 
when, to induce colonization, liberal laws and little taxa- 
tion prevailed. Instead, the revenues have, for several 
generations, been almost wholly absorbed in supporting 
a totally disproportionate civil list, in which almost every 
position was a sinecure, and a military organization, in- 
cluding common soldiers, Guardia Civil, and Orden Pub- 
lico, numbering at times over ten thousand men — an 
army ten times as large in proportion as that which we 
contemplate in our new army of one hundred thousand 
men. 



CHAPTER XXII 

COURTS 

AN appreciation of abstract justice has never been cul- 
tivated in the Spanish mind, and, in truth, it would 
be remarkable if there remained more than a rudimentary 
process in the brain of a colonist of Spain, which re- 
sponded to impressions of impartial fair play, after labor- 
ing under centuries of despotic military government, in 
which the courts of justice have been used constantly to 
subserve the ends of governors-general by ridding them 
of their enemies and in freeing their friends who have 
lucklessly brought upon themselves popular odium. 

The judicial systems of Spain and some other European 
countries are faulty to the point of viciousness, in that 
there are no tribunals of law which take precedence over 
military and civil jurisdiction, vested in the authority of 
one man who possesses power to appoint and dismiss 
such judges and court officials as he may see fit. While 
in Puerto Rico it was possible, in certain cases, to take 
an appeal to the highest court in Madrid, the obstacles 
which might be placed in the way of the plaintiff were 
tremendous, as the Governor-General not only controlled 
the action of the courts on the island, but was in close 
and active touch with the government of the mother 
country. 

The island administration of justice was and will be 
carried on — until Congress acts — by three courts, subject 

232 



COURTS 

to such modifications in the old plan, by the President, as 
may best meet the needs of the changed conditions. The 
first is known as the Justice of the Peace Court, " Juez 
Municipal," with one in each of the seventy-one munici- 
palities. The judge in this court had jurisdiction over 
all civil questions in which the matter involved repre- 
sented 200 pesos or less; in criminal matters authority 
was limited to the trying of petty offenses, and violation 
of city ordinances, the maximum penalty which might 
be imposed being thirty days' imprisonment or a fine of 
twenty-five pesos. An appeal might be taken from this 
court to the next higher one, " Juez de Instruccion," 
whose decision was final. 

The justice of the peace was also in charge of the civil 
registry — the registration of births and marriages. His 
salary was paid in fees alone, and nominally did not ex- 
ceed fifty pesos a month, though the office was estimated 
by outsiders as being worth, under the old regime, from 
three to five thousand pesos annually. 

The second court was presided over by a district 
judge, " Juez de Primero Instancia y de Instruccion " — 

Prim.ero Instancia " relating to civil matters and " de 
Instruccion " meaning the instruction in criminal matters. 
The positions were somewhat like our country judge- 
ships. 

All suits involving above 200 pesos were tried before 
this tribunal. The plaintiff must be represented by an 
attorney and a " Procurador. " From the decision an 
appeal might be taken to the " Audiencia Territorial " at 
San Juan. 

In criminal matters, this court had jurisdiction over all 
violations of law, but the judge's power was limited to 
instituting merely summary proceedings, and his finding, 
with the evidence, must be sent to the higher court, 

233 



PUERTO RICO 

" Audiencia de la Criminal," as he had no authority to 
render a verdict or convict. The salary was 3,600 pesos 
a year. 

There were three courts under the designation of 
"Audiencia de la Criminal," one at San Juan, another at 
Ponce, and the third at Mayaguez. Each court was 
composed of three members, a presiding and two asso- 
ciate judges. These courts rendered decisions and could 
convict in all criminal cases ; appeal from them could only 
be made to Madrid. Trials were public, there was no 
jury, and in fact a jury is unknown in Spanish law. The 
legal groundwork was the depositions made before the 
lower court, though new evidence might be introduced 
and witnesses summoned. If the evidence was not suffi- 
cient in the opinion of the court, the case was quashed. 
The salary of the presiding judge was 4,000 pesos and that 
of the associates 3,500 each. 

The final appeal in both civil and criminal matters was 
to the Court of Reviews, " Tribunal de Cassacion," at 
Madrid. This was done by forwarding all records and 
depositions. There were five members, and a public 
prosecutor made all the charges. 

Previous to the autonomical decree, all court officials 
were appointed by the Madrid government or the Gov- 
ernor-General of the island, but, under the autonomy 
which was granted Puerto Rico in February, 1897, the 
mantle of patronage fell upon the shoulders of the Pro- 
visional Minister of Justice, selected by the Crown. As 
either power was supreme to appoint or dismiss the men 
who administered decisions in the courts of law, the sys- 
tem was meretricious in the extreme, and, under these 
conditions, it is little wonder that influential Puertorique- 
fios looked upon their courts with contempt, as institu- 
tions open to knavish influences, corruption, and bribery ; 

234 



COURTS 

while the poor man trembled with fear lest he fall victim 
for another's sins, and disappear forever in the dungeons 
of San Juan. It was possible, under legal rulings, to 
detain a man in prison, without hearing, indefinitely — 
"prison prevention," as it was known — with a bail so 
high that neither he nor his friends could meet it, and to 
pigeonhole all evidence in the case. Unless powerful 
friends could be produced at the court in Madrid, a 
political enemy might thus be buried for the rest of his 
natural life. 

Perhaps the worst example of despotic power ever wit- 
nessed in Puerto Rican law was the court known by the 
misnomer of " Court of Military Justice," established in 
January, 1891. The ostensible function of this court 
was to determine criminal offenses of civilians who should 
be subjected to military trial. Most of the cases tried 
before this tribunal were founded on alleged insults to 
individuals in the military organizations, the army, navy, 
and Guardia Civil. It gave an excellent opportunity for 
officers to settle old grudges against civilians and not to 
settle their bills, it being a universal practice for officers 
to run up store bills which they never paid, and which 
the tradesman dared not attempt to collect, unless he had 
a " pull," through fear of summary imprisonment. 

The press was also held in check by this court, and it 
was no uncommon thing for an editor to suffer imprison- 
ment for the slightest offensive allusion to the army; it 
is asserted by some that, through its aid, systematic 
bulldozing of private citizens was indulged in, and, when 
politicians could not reach their enemies by other means, 
it was easy, by crossing palms with gold, to have them 
spirited away by the soldiers. The real function of this 
court was to try cases of incendiarism, brigandage, sedi- 
tion, and taking up arms against the government. 

235 



PUERTO RICO 

An example of the working of the district courts in 
Puerto Rico came under the personal observation of the 
writer at Utuado, where a man had been arrested, at the 
instance of an American officer, for obtaining goods under 
false pretenses. The prisoner — a town marketman — 
had been furnishing fresh beef to the American soldiers, 
under contract ; the cattle he had obtained from a poor 
native, and refused to pay for them upon presentation 
of the poor man's bill, stating that they were for the 
United States government and the meat h^d to be fur- 
nished free. The cattle-owner, an illiterate man, learned 
later that he was entitled to compensation and presented 
a bill the second time, when the butcher, with a few 
friends, intimidated him by threatening to have him 
arrested and sent to the prison at San Juan — a threat 
which kept the victim's lips closed for some weeks. In 
conversation with American soldiers later, he was not only 
assured that he was entitled to pay for goods delivered, 
but advised to report to the officer commanding the gar- 
rison. The result was the arrest of the butcher, and the 
matter came up before the local Spanish judge. Upon 
the day of the trial, the butcher came into court with the 
money to liquidate his debt, and with friends who were 
willing to swear that " he was a good man." The judge 
immediately declared the case settled, and, when the 
American officers protested that the man was guilty of 
an offense against the law, whether he tardily made rep- 
aration or not, replied that if a man paid his debt he 
could no longer be held guilty. For so long has just 
this method been in vogue, of making men pay under 
pressure, and considering the case closed when the debt, 
with added judicial fees, has been settled, that the moral 
guilt of the situation is not comprehended. Men known 
to be guilty are held innocent, provided they have suffi- 

236 



COURTS 

ciently powerful friends to testify that they are " good 
men." It will take years to eradicate the inherent Span- 
ish trait of considering that any means justifies an end, 
and to teach our new people the ethical principles upon 
which law and justice are founded. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

PAST POLITICAL METHODS 

THE word of law, as read in royal decrees and sanc- 
tioned by the Spanish Cortes, for the government 
of Puerto Rico, is as mild as summer zephyrs, and, in the 
translation of the tender, solicitious, equable edicts voiced 
by Mother Spain to her child of the western isles, one 
hears only the dulcet tones of a brooding parent, and 
expects to find only the nursing hand, guiding the 
little one toward the full vigor of complete manhood. 

The American understands not, or comprehends with 
difficulty, that the written laws of Spain are but meaning- 
less vaporings, frank only on their surface, created by 
minds skilled in the euphony of language, and craftily 
subtle in methods which bastardize the essence of truth. 
We have of late, however, become extremists in our 
wholesale denunciation of the Spaniard, and search for 
scathing, opprobrious adjectives by which we may further 
revile him. 

In point of fact, while for centuries Spain's rule, both 
at home and in her foreign possessions, has been practi- 
cally synonymous with all that is vicious in preconcerted 
and perverted officialism, the little island of Puerto Rico 
has been free from much of the insatiable oppression 
which has wrung, from the people of other provinces, a 
sweat of gold, for the personal enrichment and aggran- 
dizement of unscrupulous officers. 

238 



PAST POLIT^ICAL METHODS 

In the early periods of active discovery, two and three 
centuries ago, the Spanish seekers after renown and fame 
and riches were carrying conquest into the mainland of 
the western hemisphere, blotting out gentle civilization 
by the sword, with a hilt of the cross of Christ, in their 
greed for gold alone. They passed Puerto Rico by as 
being barren and destitute of rushing waters with a glint 
of yellow, and devoid of gem-laden aboriginal kings, 
dwelling in castles veneered with precious metals ; it was 
only a region fair to look upon, and hence, for the past 
two centuries, little progress has been made in coloni- 
zation, beyond the killing off of the half-million poor 
Indians to whom the island had been a happy home. 

A government with definite official reports from its 
administrative departments did not exist in Puerto Rico 
until after the beginning of the present century. No 
intelligible returns were made of the custom-house and 
revenue receipts of the island, though both import and 
revenue laws were in vogue. 

The population in 1778 was roughly estimated to be 
some eighty thousand people, and it was generally ad- 
mitted that their needs from the outer world were sup- 
plied by contraband traffic. The Governor-General, the 
military and the civilian officers, were supported by taxes 
levied on Mexico until 18 10, when that country per- 
manently rebelled. The little island was looked upon 
with very little interest until the day Spain found herself, 
by repeated revolts of her American colonies, left in pos- 
session of only Cuba and Puerto Rico. 

In the early years of the century, the island enjoyed 
broad-gauge laws, in that a royal decree of 181 5 fostered 
emigration by free grants of land to colonists, the area 
being determined by the number of slaves owned by the 
settler. He was not subjected to taxation for ten years, 

239 



PUERTO RICO 

and paid neither import duties on agricultural machinery 
nor export duties on the products of the soil. 

The general laws governing the municipalities and dis- 
tricts were exceedingly liberal, and the inhabitants, instead 
of being overtaxed, were, to their own detriment and to 
the future harm of the state, undertaxed, which engen- 
dered a spirit of discontent in the people, as greater 
revenues were demanded from them in after years, pro- 
portionate to the public improvements, the population, 
and the complexity of life. 

This Avide-open invitation for colonists had the desired 
effect of relieving the heretofore dormant condition of the 
island, and, in a space of fifteen years, the population had 
more than doubled itself, or reached nearly 400,000 souls. 

At no time during fifty years, from 1775 to 1825, were 
the revenues ever adequate for the support of the local 
government, as the customs duties were unblushingly 
diverted to the pockets of office-holders; neither could 
Spain now mulct other possessions to meet the salaries of 
the military branch of the island, and consequently the 
poor soldiers often — as in recent times — went unpaid and 
half-rationed. In 1825 his Majesty the King of Spain 
found an honorable Governor-General in Don Miguel de 
la Torre, and, for the first time in the history of the 
island, it became self-supporting, and the troops were 
regularly paid and fed. 

Smuggling, which was almost universal, was much re- 
duced by the aid of the army, and thieving from the 
government strong-box, which had been practised with 
open effrontery and mutual connivance, was curtailed to 
limits of decency and modesty. While it has been pos- 
sible, since that time, for officials to grow rapidly rich, 
so long as they are in power, the undisguised and flagrant 
abuses have been discontinued. 

240 



PAST POLITICAL METHODS 

As almost supreme power has been at all times vested 
in the Governor-General of the island, appeals to the home 
government against abuses, by those outside the official 
circle, were freighted with personal danger and were sel- 
dom resorted to, as an untoward result might mean the 
quiet disappearance of the complainant. From 1825 to 
1870, abuses slowly became greater — not that taxes in the 
main became higher per capita, but that discrimination 
was practised in the levies to such an extent that a once 
rich landholder in official disfavor might, within a few 
years, become poverty-stricken, through the machinations 
of the government machine, which worked as a unit, not 
with a view to fairly upholding good printed law, but to 
ruining its enemies and winning the mantle of a fleece of 
gold. 

During the provisional republican government which 
existed in Spain after the revolution which deposed Isa- 
bella II. in 1868, and continued until 1874, when the 
Queen's son Alphonso was declared king, Puerto Rico 
enjoyed, under the Moret law, a very liberal scheme of 
government, vesting in the municipalities civil rights 
never before possessed by them. In 1875, the light of 
populistic participation in the affairs of the island again 
Avent out, and another law, known as the " Elduayen " 
(Minister of the Colonies) promulgation, went into effect. 
The centralization of power was more severe than had 
hitherto been known, and, while this decree was osten- 
sibly only provisional in character, it continued in force 
until 1897, when what was termed the Canovas reform 
scheme was given birth. 

Spain at last was becoming frightened at the misbe- 
havior of Cuba, and, fearing that the grumblings of her 
smaller child, Puerto Rico, might end in still greater 
disaffection, tried hard to pacify her by promises of self- 

241 



PUERTO RICO 

government. The new laws did not in actuality confer 
a whit broader field on the governed, for, as before, each 
municipality was directly dependent for every privilege 
upon the " Deputaccion," a monarchical organization of 
island authorities at San Juan, who approved or dis- 
approved municipal action. 

The agitators in Puerto Rican legislation recognized 
their power during Spain's crisis with rebellious Cuba, 
and, under the plea of sincere loyalty to the home gov- 
ernment, but with covert intimations of a possible upris- 
ing of the people against existing law, sent a commission, 
late in 1896, to Madrid to sue for autonomy and home 
rule. 

The members of this commission were its president, 
Senor Gomez Brioso, leader of the Puerto Rican party, 
Sefior Sabero, leader of the autonomical party in 
Spain, Senor Matienzo, an island judge, Seiior Dege- 
tan, and Senor Mufloz Rivera, who was in close touch 
with the Governor-General. 

The Canovas ministry was in power, and from them it 
was impossible to secure further concessions. Sefior 
Sagasta, however, promised them that, if they would 
recognize his own party, the Liberals, and work for its 
future elevation, he would, when in power, give to Puerto 
Rico the autonomy she so earnestly desired. Several 
ends were to be subserved by this arrangement; it 
divided the political opinions of the island between the 
Conservatives and the Liberals; kept down any impend- 
ing revolution by throwing the Autonomists into the 
Liberal party, and finally gave Sagasta a lever upon the 
island which he had not hitherto possessed. The propo- 
sition was agreed to by a majority of the committee of 
five, though Sabero and Degetan protested against selling 
themselves to the opposite party in Spain, instead of 

242 



PAST POLITICAL METHODS 

holding out firmly for recognition of the autonomistic 
party of Puerto Rico. 

Upon the return of this commission to Puerto Rico, 
an immense mass-meeting was held in the theater at San 
Juan, a building which is used for all great public demon- 
strations. Feeling ran high, and fervid, eloquent speeches 
for and against accepting the Sagasta proposition followed 
each other in quick succession, the outcome being the 
dividing of the house against itself and the forming of 
two parties — one, known as the Liberals, to further the 
Sagasta interests, and the other antagonistic, the members 
of which called themselves "Autonomista Puros. " The 
Liberals insisted, with some truth, that the Puros repre- 
sented only the disgruntled rabble, led by a handful of 
men who had been given political positions, while the 
Puros could not find sufificiently strong vituperative 
epithets by which to express their feelings against men 
who had again sold, body and soul, a million people who 
desired to be free, into the sordid clutches of Spain, for 
the paltry gift of temporary political and material ad- 
vancement. 

The autonomistic scheme contemplated universal suf- 
frage in the election of a Lower House or Legislature, to 
be composed of thirty-two members representing the 
eight districts of the island ; an Upper Chamber of fifteen 
Senators, seven of them to be chosen by the Crown and 
eight of them by popular vote; the Governor-General 
remained the representative of the Crown, with a Cabinet 
of six men, which number was afterward reduced to four: 
the President of the Senate, the Minister of Justice, the 
Secretary of Finance, and the Secretary of State. 

In November, 1897, both Cuba and Puerto Rico were 
granted autonomy by the Madrid government, and the 
four cabinet ministers were " provisionally " selected for 

243 



PUERTO RICO 

Puerto Rico by the Crown, and empowered to organize 
and put in working order as rapidly as possible, the new 
laws. 

One often hears, in confidential post-prandial talks 
among American politicians, of clever manipulative tricks 
on the part of leaders (many of them should make us 
blush) by which they carry the people with them and 
undermine their opponents; but the spirit of fair play 
usually predominates, and, when defeat comes, it is, to all 
outward appearances, taken gracefully. Not, so among 
Spanish-speaking races, in whose brains and nerves and 
hearts the spirit of political strife is one of bitter turmoil, 
engendering hatred so intense, so vile, that it stops short 
of nothing in unprincipled trickery, and reaches, often, 
the bitter end in underhand assassination of human im- 
pedimenta which block the way to party success. 

For centuries the population of Puerto Rico had ac- 
cepted quietly the dictates of monarchical power as in- 
evitable; the struggle among the populace had been 
one of individuals after government positions, with their 
recognized but unlawful perquisites — and, failing in this, 
hope at least remained of securing friendly recognition 
which might absolve them from all but nominal taxation, 
and perhaps from direct persecution — rather than a fight 
for communal recognition. Autonomy, when it was finally 
sprung on them, was a veritable firebrand which made a 
bonfire of all reason among the native Puertoriquefios, who 
possessed no influence with the government and hated 
Spaniards — the exemplification of tyranny, — and their few 
native brethren with official positions, as typifying souls 
sold for gain. Every native, whether he was high or low, 
if he could read and write, saw only in the prospective 
change a chance at last to feed from the government 
trough, and not the higher principle involved, which might 

244 



PAST POLITICAL METHODS 

mean the solidarity of a community, whereby, with united 
purpose, they might act for the betterment of the masses. 

It is not likely that the Spanish government meant that 
the remnants of her colonies should ever control them- 
selves by universal suffrage, and it was distinctly evident, 
in the preliminary narrowness of the Liberals, that the 
government still reigned. From the seat of the island 
control at San Juan, the monarchical representatives be- 
gan their campaign by solidifying their ranks through the 
appointment of Liberal alcaldes and councilmen through- 
out the seventy-one municipalities, giving a few minor 
positions to Autonomists who weakened in their cause, 
and were willing to be led blindly in the King's interests. 

The Autonomists, however, had awakened, and, taking 
courage in numbers, dared to begin a crusade of their 
own. It should be remembered that but sixteen per 
cent, of the 800,000 inhabitants of the island can read or 
write, and that the great unlettered mass cared nothing 
about the new movement, beyond the fact that the illit- 
erate always feel an ill will toward the governing class, 
and that they hated Spaniards and wealthy men as repre- 
senting the taskmaster. Their dormant feelings could 
therefore, if fired at all, be inflamed against the Liberals, 
and upon this mass the Puros worked, delivering open- 
air speeches, lurid in the pyrotechnics of language. 

It became evident to the Governor-General that some- 
thing must be done to pacify and placate the Puros. The 
leaders of the opposition party were called together and 
given public positions, with the understanding that they 
were to bring their party into line and coalesce it with 
the Liberals. This was accomplished and harmony 
seemed so assured that the now Union party held a great 
festal gathering on the nth of February, 1898, which 
was known as " Glory Day." 

245 



PUERTO RICO 

The Puros, who had been led to believe that they 
should be allowed to share the patronage throughout the 
island, now made demand for representation in the various 
municipal councils, but Seflor Rivera, the Liberal leader, 
in impassioned speeches exhibited how absurd it would 
be to distract the public attention at the present time 
from the patriotic issue at stake, and again disturb the 
balance in a now united party, which was cemented by 
the bond of fraternity, and whose eyes were cast forward 
as one man toward the long-sought goal of' individual 
freedom. The Puros, in their desire for pecuniary ag- 
grandizement, had defeated their own ends. 

Two delegates were sent from every municipality to 
elect permanent secretaries of the cabinet, and it is said 
by the Puros that these delegates were to be equally 
divided in sentiment, Puros and Liberals; but, whether 
this be so or not, the paper ballot which was cast in the 
convention was overwhelmingly Liberal, and this party 
had scored the first victory for the Madrid government. 

The whole scheme of autonomy and faction fights 
came to a sudden end at the landing of the American 
forces at Guanica, and never got farther than the selec- 
tion of the cabinet. It is said that the convention as- 
sembled became panic-stricken, on hearing the news that 
our soldiers were advancing toward San Juan, and ad- 
journed sifie die. 

No attempt has since been made to resurrect this infant, 
autonomy, who died in the horning, except at the city 
of Ponce, which is always progressive. When Gen- 
eral Wilson reorganized the municipality of Ponce, the 
Poncefios were assured that they should have complete 
control of municipal administration, and, acting upon 
this assurance, the Board of Councilmen presented a 
memorial to General Henry, who was at that time the 

246 



PAST POLITICAL METHODS 

military head of the southern district, setting forth the 
privileges which were to be granted them under the con- 
templated autonomy, and prayed approval. On Sep- 
tember 29, 1898, General Henry endorsed the memorial 
favorably and Ponceftos were happy; but on October 18, 
1898 — only twenty days later — General John R. Brooke, 
in military control of the island, cast a gloom over the 
sunny landscape of promising reform, by issuing his 
General Order No. i, in which he said, in Article ix. : 
" The provincial and municipal laws . . . will be 
enforced unless they are incompatible with the changed 
conditions of Puerto Rico, in which event they may be 
suspended by the Department Commander. They will 
be administered substantially as they were before the 
cession to the United States." This order, emanating 
from a higher military authority than General Henry, 
relegated them to pre-existing Spanish law, and it was 
carried out, though Ponce commissions waited upon the 
Commanding General, and sued for approval of their 
plan of municipal autonomy. The Alcalde and Board 
of Councilmen resigned. The situation was complicated 
by the fact that General Brooke had around him, as his 
chief advisers, the former alleged autonomistic cabinet, 
who represented, in reality, Spain's interests, but who 
had, under the changed conditions, espoused the Amer- 
ican cause, and become ardent workers and sympathizers 
in the new regime. 

The question which arises in the American mind is 
whether or not the people of Puerto Rico are fitted, at 
the present time, for the acceptance and fulfilment of the 
duties involved in universal suffrage. Are they capable 
of governing themselves, and is their mental and moral 
condition such as to justify their entering into statehood ? 
There are many opinions, pro and con, upon this subject, 

247 



PUERTO RICO 

but the majority of the answers, among the inhabitants 
of the island themselves, are in the negative. There are 
over 800,000 people, eighty-four per cent, of whom can 
neither read nor write ; men, women, and children who, 
in generations dead, have never taken the slightest in- 
terest in public affairs, and in the living generation can- 
not, in the depth of their ignorance, comprehend the 
primary elements of self-government. Of the 100,000 
left who can read and write, less than one-half are said to 
possess, by deed of title, almost the entire island. At 
least one-third of these have, at different times, held gov- 
ernment offices, either municipal or central. None of 
them, except the scattered few who have been educated 
in the United States, have ever been in intimate contact 
with the working of republican forms of government, 
while every man who has held a Spanish position is con- 
versant and thoroughly imbued with the spirit of a spoils- 
system combination so extensive that it puts to shame the 
most halcyon days of metropolitan aldermen in America. 

The writer has no wish to discredit the earnest, honest 
men of the island, who look forward to American methods 
as a saving grace, and incidentally it may be remarked 
that the majority of the educated population, whether 
they have or have not hitherto been identified with 
Spanish methods, recognize the inherent weakness which 
existed under the old administration, and consider the 
change for the better. It must be plainly stated, how- 
ever, that there is not today a sufficient proportion of 
the population versed in the administration of republi- 
can forms of government to warrant the extension of 
universal suffrage. 

It may be pointed out that, in the late autonomical 
elections, the registration numbered less than 100,000, 
though both Liberals and Puros exerted every effort 

248 



PAST POLITICAL METHODS 

toward securing allies, and that, at the election, less 
than fifty thousand votes were polled, or less than one- 
fourth of the number entitled to franchise. 

The primary lessons in control of affairs by popular 
voice, which will lead finally to complete statehood, must 
begin in the municipality. Ponce made a good start, 
which was nipped in the bud. It has been said that 
those in city power desired but to sell franchises with 
perquisites to themselves. Even so ; we are familiar, in 
this country, with corporate deals which feathered nests 
with as many millions as Poncefios would secure thou- 
sands in the installation of industrial enterprises. If de- 
cent municipal purity cannot be secured in Puerto Rico 
within the next decade, we have indeed shouldered for 
America a sodden load. 

Ten years of public-school education — compulsory if 
necessary — should reduce illiteracy to fifty per cent. ; ten 
years of American capitalization of island enterprises and 
immigration to foster the industries should add a hundred 
thousand Americans to the population, fitted to instruct, 
if not control, future legislation. Possibly then we may 
speak of the state of Puerto Rico and add another star to 
our flag. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

HISTORICAL SKETCH 

HISTORIANS differ as to the actual date of the 
landing of Columbus on the shores of Puerto Rico, 
and they also differ as to the spot upon which he first set 
his foot ; suffice it to say, however, that, upon his second 
voyage in 1493, to newly-discovered America, he found 
the little island and landed, either upon the northern 
coast near San Juan, or at Aguadilla on the northwest 
coast. It is related that, not finding the natives friendly, 
he set sail again and proceeded farther to the west- 
ward. 

Don Juan Ponce de Leon accompanied him on this 
expedition, and was much impressed with the beauty of 
the island, returning finally in 1508, after many wander- 
ings, to take possession of Puerto Rico. In 15 10 the 
first town, called Caparra — now known as Pueblo Viejo, — 
was built near the present site of San Juan, and in 15 11 
the towns of Aguada and San German were started. 

The Indians — who were estimated at 6oo,cxx) souls 
under a chief, Caciqui Agueynaba — were at first very 
friendly, but Spanish oppression and desire for gold and 
slaves soon caused them to turn against their " immortal " 
conquerors in serious revolt, and for a while it looked as 
if the colonists would be blotted out of existence. Su- 
perior arms and military science finally prevailed, and, a 
century later, these simple aboriginal folk, driven like 

250 



HISTORICAL SKETCH 

oxen under the yoke and ravaged by disease, had become 
nearly extinct. 

Puerto Rico has been the theater of many fierce at- 
tacks by foreign powers, all of which were repelled — 
with greater or less success — up to the period of American 
occupation, and it is a mooted question whether our first 
army of occupation would not have been wiped out, if it 
had not been for the timely arrival of notice of the protocol, 
before any attempt was made to capture the Spanish 
positions at the impregnable passes of Aybonito and 
Guayama. In 15 19, Sir Thomas Pert and Sebastian 
Cabot harried these Spanish possessions; in 1529, the 
French privateers destroyed the town of San German; 
Hawkins, Raleigh, and Drake — freebooters and slavers 
under royal commissions of England — plundered and 
sacked Spanish colonies at every opportunity during the 
latter part of the sixteenth century; and in 1595, Drake 
made an onslaught on San Juan resulting in the almost 
complete destruction of the town. The great fortifica- 
tions of Morro were, after this, hastily carried to comple- 
tion. The Earl of Cumberland, in 1598, captured the 
castle and city of San Juan, but an epidemic of tropical 
fever broke out among his men, and he was forced to 
release his hold. The Dutch, in 161 5, played a part in 
invasion, under General Baldwin Henry, but were driven 
away with considerable loss and without capturing Morro 
castle. 

For a quarter of a century, between 1625 and 1650, 
pirates and filibusters worked great havoc to the early 
Spanish colonies, and in consequence many of the colo- 
nists returned to Spain. The British again, in 1678, 
attacked San Juan, but their fleet was almost wholly 
destroyed by a storm which drove the vessels upon the 
rocky coast. In 1702, another British squadron landed at 

251 



PUERTO RICO 

Arecibo, but was repelled, and, in 1797, the most formida- 
ble British invasion yet attempted was set on foot, when 
Sir Ralph Abercrombie, with 10,000 men, laid siege to 
San Juan and Aguadilla; but Morro castle and the great 
stone defenses at the capital had been completed and 
could not be taken. Since Abercrombie's repulse, no 
warlike demonstration had been made before San Juan, 
until the bombardment by our navy in 1898. 



APPENDIX 

EXTRACTED FROM 

" TRADE OF PUERTO RICO. " BY FRANK H. 
HITCHCOCK, CHIEF, SECTION OF FOREIGN 
MARKETS, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICUL- 
TURE, 1898 

AGRICULTURAL IMPORTS OF PUERTO RICO IN 1 894 
AND 1895 





Calendar Years. 


ARTICLES IMPORTED. 


1894. 


1895. 




Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


ANIMAL MATTER. 

Animals, live : 


62 
9 


$1,496 
1,232 
1,448 














I 


$241 




Total 




4,176 




241 








Animal products : 

Bristles and hair pounds 


1,140 


209 


291 


S3 


Dairy products — 

Butter pounds 

Cheese do 


298,129 
1,322,351 


57,418 
347,289 


365,83s 
1,286,178 


70,459 
337,790 


Total do 


1,620,480 


404,707 


1,652,013 


408,249 




Feathers — 

For ornament pounds 

Other do 


141 

6S5 


926 
960 


141 
743 


926 
1,089 


Total do 


796 


1,886 


884 


2,015 


Glue and albumens pounds 

Grease do 

Gut, dried do 


27,044 
14,061 
1,448 
6,781 


616 
9,510 

593 


19,330 

37,908 

752 


2,454 
1,660 
4,936 









253 



PUERTO RICO 





Calendar Years. 


ARTICLES IMPORTED. 


1894. 


1895. 




Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


ANIMAL KATIKR— Continued. 

Meat products — 

Bacon, hams, pork, and lard, 

pounds 

Jerked beef do 

Meat, pickled do 

Poultry and game do 


8,678,006 

1,037,496 

33,426 

251 

1,016,464 


$1,139,554 
63,578 
2,194 

33 

88,985 


9,706,556 

2,272,249 

90,769 


$1,274,618 

139.245 

5,960 


Other do 


1,281,230 


112,163 


Total do 


10,765,643 


1,294,344 


13,350,804 


1,531,986 


Wool, raw. ._ pounds 


392 


144 
315 


309 


122 

322 








Total animal products 




1,715.757 




1.951,797 












1,719,933 




1,952,038 








VEGETABLE MATTER. 

BreadstuSs : 
Cereals — 
Wheat bushels 






II 
237,182 


17 

4.152 


Other pounds 


1,171,068 


20,504 


Totol 




20,504 




4,169 








Flour- 
Wheat barrels 

Other do 


238,794 
17,78s 


1,434,075 
76,292 


170,460 
1.347 


1,023,694 
5.779 


Total do 


256,579 


1,510,367 


171,807 


1,029,473 


Bread, biscuits, pastes for soups, 
and all other preparations of, used 
as food pounds 


1,691,138 


151,196 


1,359,874 


"0,375 






1,682,067 




1,144,017 








Canned goods pounds 

Chocolate and sweetmeats do 


563,373 
437,143 
108,214 


221,938 
153,076 
28,420 


453,199 

212,620 

87.561 


178,536 
74,454 
22,996 




Fibers, vegetable : 

Cotton pounds 

Hemp, aiid tow of do 

Manila, jute, and other vege- 
table fibers do 


41,057 
7,42s 


4,673 
455 


14,811 
2,562 

4.076 


1,686 
157 

143 








Total do 


48,482 


5,128 


21,449 


1,986 


Forage and bran pounds 

Fruits do 


11,605 

1,039,970 

no 

221,558 


152 

45,521 

72 

14,547 


27,862 

975.776 

46 

328,718 


366 
40,781 




21,583 




Malt liquors and cider : 

In bottles gallons 

In other receptacles do 


135,497 
2,479 


103,940 
1,359 


139.803 


107,243 








Total do 


137,976 


105,299 


139.803 








Oils, vegetable : 
Cocoanut, palm-nut, and other heavy 


9,356 


736 


6,876 






541 



254 



APPENDIX 





Calendar Years. 


ARTICLES IMPORTED. 


1894. 


1895. 




Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


VEGETABLE MATTER — Continued. 

Olive— 

In bottles pounds 

In other receptacles do 


53,173 
2,018,552 


$9,310 
194,382 


28,188 
3,496,161 


$4,935 
336,672 


Total do 


2,071,725 


203,692 


3,524,349 


341,607 


Other pounds 


323,096 


38,185 


307,558 


36,349 


Total vegetable oils do 


2,404,177 


242,613 


3,838,783 


378,497 


Opium, jalap, resin, and scammony, 
pounds 

Rice do 

Saffron do 


291 

72,674,540 

459 


732 

2,226,763 

4,416 


86 

74,145,046 

1,078 


216 

2,271,819 

104 


Seeds : 

Oleaginous pounds 

Other do 


11,916 
9,777 


469 
128 


9,751 
72,078 


384 
947 


Total do 


21,693 


597 


81,829 


1,331 


Spices, not including saffron., .pounds 


126,442 


27,684 


190,911 


42,080 


Alcohol and brandy gallons 


4,426 


3,234 


6,088 


4,448 


Liqueurs, cognac, and other com- 
pound spirits — 

In bottles gallons 


47,977 
77,849 


70,102 
73,937 


28,522 
44,657 


41,674 
42,413 


Total do 


125,826 


144,039 


73,179 


84,087 




130,252 


147,273 


79,267 


88,535 


Starch, dextrin, and glucose. . .pounds 
Tea do 


173,437 
247 


9,110 
254 


67,838 

262 

38,261 


3,564 

270 

8,709 










Vegetables^ including pulse : 

Pulse, dried pounds 

Vegetables, pickled or otherwise pre- 
served pounds 

Other do 


5,356,9" 

770,349 
12,711,566 


152,413 

134,878 
222,563 


3,595,528 

555,824 
11,482,525 


102,299 

97,317 
201,044 




18,838,826 


509,854 


15,633,877 


400,660 


Wines : 

Still wines — 

Made from grapes — 

In bottles do 

In other receptacles do 

Other - 


1,243 

19,142 
49,297 

19.354 
1,050,758 


",350 

69,924 
90,037 

21,209 
345,447 


486 

9,128 
15,732 

41,640 
971,498 


4.437 

33,345 
28,733 

45,632 
319,389 




Total wines do 


1,139,794 


537,967 


1,038,484 


431,536 






5,963,483 




5,219,314 












7,683,416 




7,171,352 









255 



PUERTO RICO 



NON-AGRICULTURAL IMPORTS OF PUERTO RICO IN 1 894 
AND 1895 



ARTICLES IMPORTED. 



Calendar Years. 



Quantities. 



Values. 



1895. 



Quantities. 



Values. 



Cotton fabrics 

Fish and shellfish, fresh, salted, and 
otherwise preserved 

Wood, and manufactures of 

Leather, and manufactures of 

Tobacco, and manufactures of 

Iron and steel, and manufactures of. . . 

Fabrics of hemp, flax, jute, manila, etc. 

Machinery and apparatus 

Soap 

Paper and pasteboard, and manufac- 
tures of 

Mineral oils, crude and refined 

Cotton yarn and thread 

Woolens 

Paraffin, stearin, wax, spermaceti, and 
manufactures of 

Glass and glassware 

Coal and coke 

Silk fabrics 

Hats and caps 

Chemicals, drugs, and medicines . 

Marble and other stone, cement, lime, 
and plaster 

Dyes, dyestuffs, and varnishes 

Earthen-, stone-, and chinaware 

Copper, brass, and bronze, and manu- 
factures of 

Books, music, prints, maps, engrav- 
ings, etc 

Carriages, cars, and other vehicles 

Fans 

Ships and boats 

All other non-agricultural imports 



Pounds. 
S.498,534 

26,046,046 



466,143 

13.S41.931 
1,982,765 
3,227,002 
4,858,822 

3,680,280 

5,630,004 

166,610 

181,218 

1,422,513 

2,734.836 

37,715,180 

28,925 



1,867,335 

4,305,693 

793,169 

1,792,894 

106,523 

89,404 

" " 8',534' 



$2,932,921 

1,591,865 
1,391,766 

877,153 
409,617 
769,860 

412,549 
296,629 
212,679 

305,043 
122,776 
145,856 
262,648 

223,795 
152,430 

90,797 
202,850 
155,551 

85,283 

64,590 
92,336 
100,122 

40,545 

33,128 
10,993 
8,196 

22,6X2 
388,330 



Pounds. 
3,791,411 

30,339,905 



790,317 
11,884,866 

2,364,135 
3,350,354 
5,678,817 

2,376,014 

11,355,094 

177,013 

107,574 

970,121 

2,503,617 

51,729,658 

15,009 



1,452,829 

4,738,646 

543,847 
2,244,228 



65,016 
6,945 



$2,070,667 

1,918,107 
840,511 
711,417 
692,333 
658,413 
408,974 
344,879 
248,571 

196,197 
169,629 
154,964 
154,947 

151,995 
125,688 
Jt24,S36 
98,786 
82,85s 
79,379 

70,061 
64,206 
58,520 

34,096 

25,380 

8,841 

6,660 

1,158 

162,331 



Total non-agricultural imports. 



9,664,101 



256 



appendix: 

AGRlCtTLTURAL EXPORTS (DOMESTIC) OF PUERTO RICO 
IN 1894 AND 1895 





Calendar Years. 


ARTICLES EXPORTED. 


1894. 


1895. 




Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


ANIMAL MATTER. 

Animals, live : 

Cattle number 

Horses do 

Sheep do 

Game-cocks do 


4,306 

46 
S4 


$166,212 

1,081 

266 

104 


3,674 
52 


$141,816 
1,004 


188 


363 


Total 




167,663 




143,183 


Animal products : 

Hides pounds 

Honey do 


762,197 


63,389 


646,884 

2,679 

661 

9,994 
20,492 


53,799 
587 


6,118 


134 




219 
897 


Tallow do 


66,800 


2,924 


Total animal products 




66,447 




55,522 


Total animal matter 




234,110 




198,705 


VEGETABLE MATTER. 

Breadstuffs : Maize . . .bushels 

Cocoa, or cacao pounds 

Coffee do 


56,205 

12,425 

50,507,159 


68,885 

2,175 

11,496,082 


56,633 

11,202 

40,243,693 


69,410 

1,961 

9,159,98s 


Fruits and nuts : 
Fruits- 
Mangoes number 


300 

47,000 

4,242 

1,579 


3 
114 
287 

SS3 






1,444,038 
35,224 

999 




Preserved, in sugar or otherwise, 


2,380 
386 


Total fruits 




957 




6,250 


Niits : Cocoanuts number 


516,817 


9,974 


239,889 


4,630 






10,931 




10,880 


Ginger pounds 






2,429 
1,087 
95 
2,535 
12,707 








47 
1,390 


Peanuts. pounds 


24 


347 






362 








Spirits, distilled : 
Anisette brandy gallons 


264 
7,913 
6,585 


251 
4,047 
2,406 






12,544 
11,938 


6,414 


Rum do 


3,052 


Total do 


14,762 


6,704 


24,482 


9,466 








42,121 


1,844 


Sugar and molasses : 

Molasses pounds 

Sugar do 


15,957,253 
106,723,699 


244,466 
3,169,89s 


35,219,823 
132,147,277 


539,571 
3,905,741 


Total do 


122,680,952 


3,414,361 


167,367,100 


4,445,312 


Tobacco, leaf pounds 


3,369,616 


619,474 


3,665,051 


673,787 


Total vegetable matter 




15,618,959 




14,374,661 






15,853,069 




14,573,366 









* A small bean used as a substitute for coffee. 

-57 



PUERTO RICO 



QUANTITY AND VALUE OF MERCHANDISE IMPORTED INTC 

FIVE YEARS ENDEI 
AGRICULTURAl 



ARTICLES IMPORTED. 


1893. 


1894. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


ANIMAL MATTER. 

Animals, live (other than cattle, horses, and 




$3 














Animal products : 

Beeswax pounds 


















Honey gallons 


380 


266 


550 


$205 






266 




205 












269 




20s 








VEGETABLE MATTER. 

Chocolate, other than confectionery and sweet- 
ened chocolate pounds 

Coffee ..... do 










91,906 


23.814 
220 


372,427 


81,226 
* 










Fruits and nuts : 
Fruits- 








4 






1,563 

23 

5,948 










648 

981 


Other fruits X 












Total fruits 




7,534 




1,643 








Nuts — 




20,63o 




14,192 


















Total nuts 




20,680 




14,192 




■ ■ ■ 








28,214 




15,835 








Oils, vegetable : 










Volatile or essential pounds 


4S8 


1,162 












Total 




1,162 














Plants, trees, shrubs, vines, etc 










Seeds (except linseed or flaxseed) 




634 
496 






Spices, unground (except pepper, black or 
white, and nutmegs) pounds 


18,800 


2,658 


243 


Spirits, distilled : 

Brandy proof gallons 










Other do 


15 


27 


35 


46 


Total do 


IS 


27 


35 


46 



* Not separately stated. 



+ One year only— 1893. 



258 



APPENDIX 



THE UNITED STATES FROM PUERTO RICO DURING THE 

JUNE 30, 1897 

PRODUCTS 



i8qs. 


i8g6. 


1897. 


Annua) average, 1893- 
1897. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 












$10 




$3 






















80 


19 
10 

113 


16 


4 


















225 


231 


116 






















142 




























152 




I2S 






















94 
133,083 


23 
22,489 


19 
164,769 


32,671 


66,782 


$11^,724 


159,649 


$24,101 






















47 

5,711 

212 

486 








5,472 

21 

2,027 




2,442 

58 

381 






3,040 

192 

1,965 




























7,520 




2,881 




6,456 




5,207 












8,390 




7,571 




14,321 
19 




13,030 

4 
























8,390 




7,571 




14,340 




13,034 












15,910 




10,452 




20, 796 




18,241 




















40 
438 




8 




15s 








92 


351 












155 








478 




359 














142 












28 














127 
172 






750 


71 


2,743 


SO 


4,990 






7 
5 


17 
10 










2 
519 


3 
274 


34 


28 


2,507 


1,257 


12 


27 


34 


28 


2,507 


1,257 


521 


277 



I Including nuts, free of duty. 



PUERTO RICO 



QUANTITY AND VALUE OF MERCHANDISE IMPORTED INTC 

FIVE YEARS ENDEI 
AGRICULTURAl 



ARTICLES IMPORTED. 


1893. 


1894. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


VEGETABLE MATTER — Continued 

Sugar and molasses : 

Molasses gallons 


2,502,666 


$708,905 


2,554,265 


$630,370 


Sugar — 

Not above No. 16, Dutch standard- 
Beet sugar pounds 










99,578,182 
39^729 


3,227,522 
1,411 


75,484,143 
61,887 


2,392,514 
1,537 


Above No. 16, Dutch standard, do 




99,617,911 


3,228,933 


75,546,030 


2,394,051 








3,937,838 




3,024,421 








Tobacco, leaf, not suitable for cigar wrappers, 

pounds 


















Vegetables : 














5 














Total 




5 














Wines other than sparkling : 

In bottles dozen 

In casks gallons 


4 


39 


I 
141 


12 
S8 






Total 




39 




70 












3,992,449 




3,121,841 












3,992,71s 




3,122,046 









APPENDIX 



rHE UNITED STATES FROM PUERTO RICO DURING THE 
fUNE 30, 1897 — Continued 

PRODUCTS— Continued 



1895. 


1896. 


1897. 


Annual average, 1893- 
1897. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


2,277,346 


$460,129 


2,256,073 


$520,275 


2,639,134 


$470,532 


2,445,897 


$558,042 






238 
81,582,572 


10 
1,707,308 






48 

79,920,947 

20,409 




56,352,522 


994>073 
II 


86,607,317 


1,577,9" 


1,979,866 
592 












56,352,954 


994,084 


81,582,810 


1,707,318 


86,607,317 


1,577,911 


79,941,404 


1,980,460 




1,454,213 




2,227,593 




2,048,443 




2,538,502 


















2,390 


450 


478 


90 




















3 













































3 
























2 


8 


30 
123 


132 
46 


7 
53 


38 






















8 
2,262,253 




178 




59 














1,482,171 






2,094,167 




2,590,576 












1,482,171 




2,262,253 




2,094,319 




2,590,701 











PUERTO RICO 



QUANTITY AND VALUE OF MERCHANDISE IMPORTED INTo| 

YEARS ENDED^ 



NON-AGRICULTURAL , 



ARTICLES IMPORTED. 


1893. 


1S94. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Articles, the growth, produce, etc., of the 
United States, returned (except distilled 




25 

8 




$4,512 
196 






















Chemicals, drugs, and dyes : 










Other 




3.629 




2,005 








Total 




3,629 




2,236 












40 

450 

30 








181 
5 






Coal tar, crude, and pitch of coal tar barrels 

Copper, pigs, bars, ingots, old, and other un- 
manufactured pounds 










I 


II 

4 

300 






Glass and glassware : Bottles, vials, demijohns, 






Household goods and personal effects and wear- 
















Iron and steel, and manufactures of : 

Scrap iron and steel, fit only to be remanu- 


6 


71 






ManTifactures of iron and steel — 




30 
500 




















6 


71 




530 






Metals, metal compositions, and manufactures 


















50 

5,447 


Perfumery, cosmetics, and all toilet prepara- 




8,654 




Salt pounds 












*'" 






* 






















Unmanufactured- 




* 
1,062 




* 








80 


Manufactures of — 












222 


















1,284 




80 


















25 














15,905 




13,588 









* Not separately stated. 



+ Annual average, 1896 1897. 



262 



APPENDIX 



THE UNITED STATES FROM PUERTO RICO DURING THE FIVE 
JUNE 30, 1897 — Continued 

PRODUCTS 



1895. 


1896. 


1897. 


Annual average, 1893- 
1897. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 




$5,162 
50 




$18,982 
i6s 
38t 




$76,231 




$21,257 

87 

78 






















1 










1 










46 
2,133 




1,192 




2,727 




I, "3 















1.193 




2,7-7 




1,1-3 




2,779 
























8 


19s 


4S8 






5 


18 


76 

I 

200 


191 
6 










I, coo 


70 






14 




















4 
50 








250 




523 






245 






















I 


14 
6 




















6.7 




20 






• . . 


















617 




20 


I 


248 












85 








22 




















11,476 
2,072 




8,784 




7,459 




8,364 

323 

1,087 

t7 








240,000 






1,747 
10 
48 




1,205 
4 


































937 




149 




539 
40 




tS42 
236 

131 












65s 
III 














197 






















1.703 




346 




579 




798 












250 












55 
















24.341 




34,400 




86,705 




34,988 











% Annual average, 1895-1897. 
263 



PUERTO RICO 



QUANTITY AND VALUE OF DOMESTIC MERCHANDISE 
RICO DURING THE FIVE YEARS 
AGRICULTURAL 



ARTICLES EXPORTED. 


1893. 


1894. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


ANIMAL MATTER. 

Animals, live : 
























$24 




$30 








Total 




24 




3° 








Animal products : 
Dairy products — 

Butter pounds 


63,83s 
244,884 


9,780 

28,721 

544 


139,774 
130,545 


21,456 

16,568 

605 


Milk 








Total 




39,045 




38,629 








Glue pounds 


1,142 


142 

354 
21 

293 
332 


1,623 


225 

345 








Hides and skins, other than furs pounds 






34 














Meat products : 

Beef products — 

Beef, canned pounds 

Beef, salted or pickled do 


4,04S 
80,360 


354 
3,894 


6,166 
79,3°o 


509 
4,159 


Tallow do 


11,100 


778 


3,305 


171 


Total 




5,026 




4,839 








Hog products — 


180,341 

801,868 

3,318,600 

3,239,094 


14,090 

99,754 
282,980 
306,809 


230,976 

799,812 

4,480,400 

3,979,784 


19,038 
98,695 
360,684 
343.573 




Pork, pickled do 

Lard do 


Total 




703,633 




821,990 








Oleomargarine, or imitation butter, 

pounds 


43,670 


5,458 
io,8gs 


76,534 


10,182 
17,723 












725,012 




854,734 








Oils, animal, not elsewhere specified — 
Other, except whale and fish ... do 


289 
154 


180 
120 


210 

739 


154 
42s 


Total do 


443 


300 


949 


579 






765,499 
765.523 




894,546 














894.576 









264 



APPENDIX 



::XPORTED FROM THE UNITED STATES TO PUERTO 

iNDED JUNE 30, 1897 

'RODUCTS 



1895. 


1896. 


1897. 


Annual average, 1893- 
1897. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 

19 

I 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


7 


$1,125 


II 


$1,570 


$4,590 
300 


7 


$1,457 








92 




29 
















1,125 




1,662 




4,890 




1,546 










102,914 
25,319 


12,448 

3,038 

667 

16,153 


20,65s 
25,404 


2,754 

2,946 

737 


33,525 
26,478 


4,009 

3,022 

729 


72,141 
90,526 


10,090 

10,859 

656 














6,437 




7,760 

323 
278 




21,605 








1,788 


970 


"5 
564 


2,521 


353 
603 


2,685 


232 
429 

.A 










5,465 


336 


1,800 


145 














66 


















1,584 
35,625 


123 
1,781 


2,112 

32,925 


163 
1,606 


2,496 
61,100 
86,000 

4,565 


192 
2,905 
4,055 

256 

7,408 


3,281 

57,862 
17,200 
6, no 


268 

2,869 

811 


3,990 


234 


7,591 


411 


370 




2,138 




2,180 






4-318 











399,222 

680,411 

3,285,200 

3,414,798 


29,001 

70,967 

221,848 

243,148 


295,396 

985,718 

4-495,550 

4,027,501 


19,186 
92,549 
343,3" 
244,467 


618,015 

888,945 

3,450,200 

4,572,985 


33,233 

79,369 

152,411 

228,051 


344,790 

831,351 

3,805,990 

3,846,832 


22,910 

88,267 

252,247 

273,209 




564,964 




599,513 




493-064 




636,633 










"0,515 


13,540 
12,025 


18,440 


1-738 
17,092 






49,832 


6,183 

15,442 




19,474 












592,667 




620,523 

102 
165 




519,946 




662,576 








i8r 
419 


60 
169 


36 

120 

156 


194 
230 


150 

805 


82 
372 


III 
240 


229 


424 


267 


955 


454 


600 


351 




609,991 
611,116 




628,328 




528,761 
533,651 




685,425 














629,990 






686,971 











265 



PUERTO RICO 



QUANTITY AND VALUE OF DOMESTIC MERCHANDISl 

RICO DURING THE FIVE YEAR! 

AGRICULTURA] 



* Not separately stated. 



ARTICLES EXPORTED. 


1893. 


1894. 




Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


VEGETABLE MATTER. 

Bread and breadstuffs : 

Barley bushels 

Bread and biscuit pounds 

Corn (maize) bushels 

Corn meal barrels 

Oats bushels 

E ye flour barrels 










432,075 

23,874 

14,847 

4,003 

6 


$22,768 

14,614 

43,065 

1,847 

23 


338,445 

17,449 

28,414 

5,315 

' 57 


$16,959 

9,141 

77,409 

2,286 

172 


Wheat flour barrels 

Other breadstuffs, and preparations of, used 


167,053 


733,308 
21,431 


200,813 


734,443 
30,764 








Total 




837,056 




871,174 












1,072 
77 




7'5 
17 


Coffee and cocoa, ground or prepared, and 












Fruits and nuts : 
Fruits- 
Apples, dried pounds 

Apples, green or ripe barrels 

Preserved fruits — 






50 
470 


6 


744 


2,134 

2,622 
848 
269 


1,923 


Other 




577 
408 














Total fruits 




5,873 




4,964 








Nuts 








44 














5,873 
* 
58 
518 




5,008 








Grasses, dried 








Hay tons 


4 
2,953 








2,167 
2,639 


434 


Malt liquors : 


4,850 


8,254 


4,361 


In other receptacles gallons 










Total 




8,254 




4,361 








Oil cake and oil-cake meal : 

Flaxseed or linseed do 


[ 8,050 


129 


16,500 


208 


Total do 


8,050 


129 


16,500 


208 


Oils, vegetable : 

Cotton-seed gallons 

Linseed do 


171 
5,526 


120 
2,643 

106 


450 
1,844 


225 
889 
725 
56 


All other 












Total 


3,227 




1,895 









t Annual average, 1894-1897. 



266 



APPENDIX 



EXPORTED FROM THE UNITED STATES TO PUERTO 

iNDED JUNE 30, 1897 — Continued 

''&.OVi\iZ"!:'S,— Continued 



\ Annual average, 1895-1897. 



1895. 


1896. 


1897. 


Annual average, 1893- 
1897. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 






21 

399,687 

59S 

355 

1,692 

2 


$12 
19,930 
276 
886 
657 
7 






407,613 
8,864 
9,386 
2,625 

14 

2 

148,487 




194,729 
1,200 

2,417 
1,217 

2 


$10,431 

714 

6,665 

601 

10 


673,128 

1,200 

897 

896 

4 

, 9 

126,933 


$29,787 

433 

1,698 

288 

13 

8 

516,188 

13,083 
561,498 


19,975 
5,036 

25,945 
1,136 

45 


118,617 


382,676 
9,707 


129,021 


486,482 
13,107 


570,619 
17,618 










410,804 




52', 357 






640,378 












1,050 
240 




1,265 
337 




2,062 
330 




1,233 
































10 
526 




225 


752 

1,656 

10 

294 


494 


1.525 

1,774 
191 
22 


697 


1,478 
2,187 


1,563 

2,058 
325 
290 
















458 
4,123 














2,712 




3,5" 






4,237 
























9 


















2,712 




3,512 




4,123 




4,246 
















30 

52 

423 




28 

30 
266 




m 






3 
3,929 


2 

2,505 


2,808 


2,488 


294 


387 


857 


1,479 


1,350 


2,173 


1,425 
300 


2,264 
90 


2,224 
60 


3,706 
18 














1,479 




2,173 




2,354 
















( 600 
1 11,400 


6 


2,000 
7,500 


21 
100 






^867 
111,300 


t9 


15,000 


200 


ti38 


12,000 


121 


9,500 


121 


15,000 


200 


12,210 


156 


1,060 
450 


308 
267 
278 


1,784 
764 


449 

400 

1,262 

5 


170 
291 


46 
119 
415 
258 

838 


727 
1,775 


230 
863 
608 










85 















853 




2,116 






1,786 











26'J 



PUERTO RICO 



QUANTITY AND VALUE OF DOMESTIC MERCHANDISE 

RICO DURING THE FIVE YEAR! 

AGRICULTURAl 



ARTICLES EXPORTED. 


1893. 


1894. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


VEGETABLE MPCTTS.'S-— Concluded. 




* 
* 

$I2S 

547 






Rice pounds 


* 








$86 
393 


Seeds 












Spirits, distilled : 

Brandy proof gallons 

Whisky, rye do 










IS 


48 


6 


21 


Total do 


IS 


48 


6 


21 


Starch pounds 

Sugar, refined do 


iS,283 
3.4SO 


636 
182 


34,083 
5,310 


1,280 
272 


Vegetables : 


16,691 

40 

i,S47 


23,68s 

44 

1,559 

S14 

167 

25,969 


30,976 
127 
655 


44,ioS 

130 

569 

489 

73 




Potatoes do 














Total 






45,366 








Vinegar gallons 


300 


62 






233 


IIS 












883,833 




931,345 












1.649,356 




1,825,921 









• Not separately stated. 



APPENDIX 



EXPORTED FROM THE UNITED STATES TO PUERTO 
2NDED JUNE 30, 1 897 — Coiltiimed 

'RODUCTS— Cc^r/K^/i-^ 



1895. 


1896. 


1897. 


Annual average, 1893- 
1897. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 




$11 




$1,970 
194 
26 
133 




$7 




+ S497 

t49 

47 

298 




9,700 




+ 2,425 












89 






327 












5 


10 










I 
5 








3 


15 


17 










5 


10 






3 


15 


6 


19 






i6,i8s 
450 


673 
12 


25,489 


985 


31,630 
1,486 


1,093 
72 

57,550 


24,534 
2,139 


933 








5,289 


7,338 


36,522 

386 

2,769 


44,244 

369 

1,67s 

307 

274 


44,849 


26,865 

III 

3,142 


35,384 

109 

2,150 

334 

137 


1,770 


1,240 
210 
log 


8,969 


5,707 
152 
61 




















8,897 




46,869 




63,470 




38,114 




















60 
430 




200 


91 


1,270 


343 


446 


163 


142 




427,336 


581,906 
1, 211,896 




636,876 




692,259 










1,038,452 




1,170,527 




1,379,230 











t Annual average, 1894-1897. 



PUERTO MCO 



QUANTITY AND VALUE OF DOMESTIC MERCHANDISl 

RICO DURING THE FIVE YEAR: 

NON-AGRICULTURyffl' 





1893. 


1894. 




Quantities. 


V»lues. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Agricultural implements : 








$688 
5,359 
1,463 






$2,631 
539 
















Total 




3.170 




7,510 












740 
1,681 
4i95o 

2,l8l 




26s 
ii30i 
2,809 
3. 161 


























Bricks : 










Fire 




1,711 




1.67J 








Total 




1,711 




1,673 












4,408 
8,384 
2,603 

10.351 




4,990 
9,718 
1,939 

13,819 


Candles pounds 


88,027 


98,500 


Carriages, horse-cars, and vehicles, n. e. s., 






Cars, passenger and freight, for railroads, and 










* 
* 












29 










Chemicals, drugs, dyes, and medicines : 




1,586 

17 

13,152 

38,691 

53-446 




2,801 








3 








Other 






41,890 








Total 






55,184 










Clocks and watches : 




1,609 
517 




890 
















Total 




2,126 














Coal and coke : 


319 
17,990 


1.364 
48,065 


122 
1,5,179 


510 


Bituminous do 

Coke do 


41,252 
86 


Total 




49,429 




41,848 








Copper, and manufactures of : 

Other 






882 


128 




1,566 












Total 




1,566 













* Not separately stated. 



+ Annual average, 1894-1897. 



270 



APPENDIX 



XPORTED FROM THE UNITED STATES TO PUERTO 
NDED JUNE 30, 1897 — Continued 

RODUCTS 



iSqS- 


1896. 


1897. 


Annual average, 1893- 
1897. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 
















$138 
3.320 
1,46s 




$2,023 
705 




$3,372 
3,595 




$3,215 
1,024 






















2,728 

168 

g64 

6,78s 

3,162 




6,967 




4,239 

75 
2,512 
5,250 
3,738 




4,923 












211 
2,093 
2,381 
4,059 






292 
1,710 

4,435 
3,260 
































4 


28 
1,615 








I 


6 




6,83s 
6,835 




1,663 


2,699 












1,643 






1,663 

1,323 
1,276 

459 

9,430 

810 




2,70s 












1,898 

4,975 

959 

6,780 




1,393 
4,188 
1,006 

7,879 






2,802 


61,000 


44,75° 


13,865 


61,228 


5,708 
1,393 

9,652 

162 
























28 
S3 






^'' 










4 


















1,881 

13 

7,397 

32,406 

41,697 




1,626 

9 
12,001 
42,522 




1,410 

30 

10,339 

36,661 

48,440 

1,054 
652 




1,861 




















10,676 
38,434 






















56,158 

1,201 
457 






50,985 












743 

30 


















358 












773 




1,658 




1,706 

3,003 
55,974 




1,458 








306 

23,194 

t53 


ICO 

30,152 
14 


420 

76,762 

70 


99 

30,752 
145 


419 

78,206 

560 


888 
21,897 


1,143 
60,052 

+ 179 








77,252 




79,185 




58,977 


61,338 






















176 


25 




1,969 
1,969 




2,477 




1,718 


1,847 














2,477 




1,718 




1,872 













% Annual average, 1895-1897. 
271 



PUERTO RICO 



QUANTITY AND VALUE OF DOMESTIC MERCHANDIS] 
RICO DURING THE FIVE YEAR; 

non-agricultui^a: 



* Not separately stated. 



t Annual average, 1896-1897. 



ARTICLES EXPORTED. 


1893. 


1894. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Cotton, manufactures of : 
Cloths- 
Colored yards 

Uncolored do 


63 > 749 
76,007 


$3,486 
5,632 
1,447 
5,179 


196,578 
69,855 


$7,975 
4,557 


All other 






8,132 








Total 




15,744 

* 
* 
381 




21,284 














* 








i,"3 
167 














Emery, and manufactures of : 




* 

* 
* 
* 






Manufactures of— 






31 














164 












* 




195 




2S3 




Fertilizers tons 


6,976 


321 


8,176 


Fish: 

Fresh, other than salmon pounds 

Dried, smoked, or cured— 

Codfish, including haddock, hake, and 

pollock pounds 

Herring do 

Pickled- 
Mackerel barrels 










58.580 
69,407 

III 
92 
25 

1,004 


2,139 
2,026 

1,284 
358 
125 

128 
482 


20,030 
135,554 

34 


1,009 
3,784 

478 






Salmon — 

Canned pounds 


1,248 


137 
304 
151 

412 
17 








Shell-fish- 




342 
75 




Other 






All other fish 
















Total fish 




6,959 




6,303 








Flax, hemp, jute, etc., manufactures of : 

Bags 




IS 

12,383 

185 

1,284 






Cordage pounds 


147,480 


258,077 


16,515 

"3 

1,420 














Total 




13,867 




18,048 

























272 



APPENDIX 



XPORTED FROM THE UNITED STATES TO PUERTO 
NDED JUNE 30, 1897 — Continued 

lODUCTS—Caniznued 



X Annual average, 1894-1897. || Annual average, 1893-1894, 

18 273 



1895. 


1896. 


1897. 


Annual average, 1893- 
1897. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


175,329 
32,182 


$6,691 
3,05s 
I, '34 
3,600 


371-241 
'23,743 


$11,785 

8,663 

551 

5,544 

26,543 


60,880 
49,818 


$2,467 

4,590 

957 

3,988 


173,555 
70,321 


$6,481 

5,299 

942 

5,289 




















14,480 






12,002 















* 




* 

3,363 
159 




7,929 

1,707 

309 




4,120 

1,004 

137 




1 6,025 

1 1,797 

231 




























* 

53 
7 
16 




20 
264 








tio 

t TCI 

t2 

t6i 








54 
















33 
322 




25 














76 




79 




t 200 










123 


3,945 


184 


5,335 


255 


6,689 


227 


6,224 










85 

21,330 
50,169 

128 
432 


10 

651 
952 

6,977 
* 

650 

4T 

1,766 

99 

165 
267 


17 

24,335 
84,436 

200 

II 46 
153 

781 




12,527 
118,411 

565 
240 


618 
2,596 

2,305 

30 
395 


9,210 
48,641 

* '' 

49 

982 


375 
981 

627 
* 

261 

lOI 

2,396 


958 
2,068 

1,932 

II 179 
668 

87 

1,069 

50 

264 
103 












223 
85 




177 
73 








































6,545 




4,991 




11,578 

47 

8,395 

102 

1,038 




7,27s 
















69 

16,458 

181 

1,789 

18,497 




26 


220,000 


11,176 
88 
977 


326,547 


179,681 


226,357 


12,985 

134 

1,302 




















12,241 






9,582 




14,447 










20 


35 










4 


7 













PUERTO RICO 



QUANTITY AND VALUE OF DOMESTIC MERCHANDI? 

RICO DURING THE FIVE YEAj 
NON-AGRICULTURj 



ARTICLES EXPORTED. 


1S93. 


1894. 




Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Glass and glassware : 




$88 
12,013 




$72 
12,065 


All other 












Total 




12,101 




12,137 








Gunpowder and other explosives : 

Gunpowder pounds 

Other 


1,070 


350 
391 


2,060 


544 
935 






Total 




741 




1,479 








India-rubber and gutta-percha, manufactures of: 


407 


188 
2,053 


499 


229 
2,301 










Total 




2,241 




2,530 












1,725 
4,142 




2,273 
5,650 


Instruments and apparatus for scientific pur- 
poses, including telegraph, telephone, and 












Iron and steel, and manufactures of : 






15 
37,510 

200 


225 
586 

600 


Bar iron pounds 

Manufactures of — 


6,950 


139 






14 

1,104 

140 

io-,768 
56,389 

3,222 
1,360 


311 
408 




















13,622 
31,373 

2,080 
1.589 








Nails and spikes — 

Cut pounds 

Wire, wrought, horseshoe, etc., 
and tacks pounds 

Of iron .pounds 

Ofsteel do 


162,854 
23,325 


104,900 
33,179 














1,940 




475 












11,486 
8,016 
4,618 




16,471 
7,169 

3,534 














Steam-engines, and parts of — 

Fire engines . . ._. number 

Locomotive engines do 

Boilers, and other parts of engines. 






I 
6 


4,408 
4,291 
5,77° 
1,425 

28,891 
115,32c 


I 
7 


2,400 
4,046 
4,105 
^564 












Wire _ pounds 


1,073,142 


1,401,182 


31,607 
29,025 








Total iron and steel, and manufac- 




159,302 




150,190 









* Not separately stated. 
274 



APPENDIX 



EXPORTED FROM THE UNITED STATES TO PUERTO 
!;nded JUNE 30, 1897 — Continued 

■R.GHXiQ.'V^— Continued 



189s. 


1896. 


1897. 


Annual average, 1893- 
1897. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 




fiog 
7,394 




$69 
12,108 








$68 
10,348 








$8,160 














7,503 




12,177 




8,160 




10,416 










1,300 


222 

1,081 










886 


223 

939 




1,599 




690 












1,303 




1,599 




690 




I 162 












144 


119 
2,510 


354 


232 
2,828 


400 


250 
2,899 


361 


204 
2,518 












2,629 




3,060 




3,149 




2,722 












1,934 
5,350 




1,871 
17,866 




1,814 
22,801 




1,923 


















' 




32 
120 






5 


go 


4 
12,973 

42 


69 


i°,357 


10,046 


156 


12 


88 
264 
327 


138 
192 
553 




212 
600 
460 

7,491 
56,642 

1,354 
1,238 




158 
327 






















8,925 
44,524 

1,551 
1,258 




8,216 
69,462 

992 
1,42s 

375 

123 

1,143 




9,804 
51,678 

1,840 
1,374 

75 

25 

939 

638 

11,083 

6,830 

3,115 

800 










91,400 
30.413 


79,040 
27,218 


51,960 
30,115 

15,930 
6,660 




98,031 

28,850 

3,186 
1,332 












1,092 
1,795 
7,881 
4,975 
2,230 

4,000 




46 

1,394 

12,496 

7,209 

2,953 


71 


47 




24 




7,083 
6,781 
2,242 
































3 
4 


26,296 
2,141 

10,796 
814 
590 

15,719 

25,519 


I 
4 


6,621 
2,949 
7,291 
^ 779 
+ 590 
22,189 
22,403 


3 


3,000 

10,115 

,385 

13,476 
18,408 


2 


1,265 
5,670 
^707 

21,251 
23,743 




















1,077,900 


813,485 


1,008,542 












135,506 




133,633 




180,486 




151,823 











t 1897 only- 

275 



PUERTO RICO 



QUANTITY AND VALUE OF DOMESTIC MERCHANDISB 
RICO DURING THE FIVE YEAR 



NON-AGRICULTURA 



ARTICLES EXPORTED. 


1893. 


1894. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 






|i8,377 

5,716 
1,107 




$10,472 

5,336 
1,519 


Lamps, chandeliers, etc., for illuminating pur- 


















Leather, and manufactures of : 
Leather — 

Buff, grain, splits, and all finished 




66 
820 
752 
706 

1,286 
4,00s 
1,656 




870 

233 

120 

1,069 

698 
3,731 
1,682 








Sole pounds 


3,830 


750 


Manufactures of— 


1,414 


710 






















9,291 




8,403 








Lime and cement : 

Lime barrels 

Cement do 


\ 988 


2,266 


2,067 


4,109 


Total do 


988 


2,266 


2,067 


4,109 


Marble and stone, and manufactures of : 




S3S 
3,063 




676 
6,338 














Total 




3,598 




7,014 




























Musical instruments : 

Organs number 


I 
I 


69 

450 

97 


I 


300 






383 










Total 




616 




683 








Naval stores : 

Rosin barrels 

Tar do 


383 
435 
103 

9,789 


801 

947 
256 

3,63s 


1,157 
200 
I5S 

7,933 


2,300 
478 
3SO 

2,737 




Total 




5,639 




5,86s 














* 
* 




6,789 

















* Not separately stated. 
276 



APPENDIX 



EXPORTED FROM THE UNITED STATES TO PUERTO 
ENDED JUNE 30, 1 897 — Continued 

PRODUCTS - Continued 



1895. 


i8g6. 


1897. 


Annual average, 1893- 
1897. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 




$3i747 
1,816 




$8,698 

6,039 
1,731 




$3,786 

3,615 
3,729 




$9,016 

4,928 
1,980 


























325 
650 
103 
75 

120 

3.573 

454 




1,876 
261 




582 

234 

1,255 

23 

72s 
3,040 
1,509 




744 
440 
446 
448 

775 
3,830 
1,257 










682 




7,102 


2,473 






367 

1,049 

4,800 

986 


u6 


810 


768 


764 




















5.3°o 




9,339 




7,368 




7,940 












437 


92 


156 


( 




685 




267 


]■ i2 


18 


1,397 




437 


92 


156 


12 


18 


685 


1,397 




45° 
2,174 




704 
2,637 




204 
2,286 




514 
3,299 




















2,624 




3,341 




2,490 




3,813 
















7 






































74 






I 


500 
5 


I 


500 
45 


I 




180 


142 












180 




5°5 




545 




506 










442 

133 

56 

9,104 


8qi 

32s 
100 

31I07 


88i 

295 

61 

7,239 


1,768 
650 
102 

2,392 


159 

266 

98 

9,890 


318 

573 

154 

3,174 


604 

266 

95 

8,791 


1,216 
595 
192 

3,009 




4,423 




4,912 




4,219 


















2,588 




3,41s 




3,492 
393 




+ 4,071 
+ 98 

























+ Annual average, 1894-1897. 
277 



PUERTO RICO 



QUANTITY AND VALUE OF DOMESTIC MERCHANDISI 
RICO DURING THE FIVE YEARS' 
NON-AGRICULTURAL 



ARTICLES EXPORTED. 




1893. 


1894. 




Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Oils: 

Animal- 
Whale 


.gallons 

do 
. do 

do 
. do 
. do 






10 

40 
514,905 

44S 
171,446 
20,589 


$8 

IS 

37,32s 

112 

16,565 
4,457 


Fish 

Mineral, crude 

Mineral, refined — 

Naphthas 

Illuminating 

Lubricating 


80 
509,987 

300 

480,390 

4,100 


$56 
34,555 

S8 

40,927 

i,igi 


Total oils 




76,787 




58,482 














6,506 




6,370 










Paper, and manufactures of : 




163 

1,399 

19,145 




41 














16,630 










Total 




20,707 




18,351 




.pounds 






Paraffin and paraffin wax 


26,473 


1,496 

2,501 
* 

* 

2,950 
47 


19,193 


3,362 
2,844 














* 








2,712 
48 


Quicksilver 

Sand 


.pounds 


90 


90 
























Soap: 




386 
19 




424 
42 


Other 


.pounds 


404 


9S0 


Total 




405 




466 




.pounds 






Sponges 


* 


* 
7,319 


40 


27 

4,350 

64 

313 








Straw and palm-leaf, manufactures of. 






*"3 
1,883 
















1,223 

45 

566 

4,335 

2,271 








Toys 




831 
1,252 
1,988 










Varnish 


. .gallons 


1,790 


1,665 


* Not separj 
27 


itely stated. 

8 









APPENDIX 



EXPORTED FROM THE UNITED STATES TO PUERTO 
ENDED JUNE 30, 1 897 — Continued 

V'R.OVX! CIS,— Continued 



1895. 


1896. 


1897. 


Annual average, 1893- 
1897. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 














2 

544 

574.992 

357 

297,050 

10,635 


$2 
146 

48.637 

75 
30,308 

3.117 






50 
708,008 

320 

241,692 

9.352 


$14 
68,080 

76 

30.732 

3.460 


2,552 
623.958 

612 

268,020 
7.563 


$646 
59.676 

100 

30,713 
2,562 


518,100 

no 

323,700 
11.569 


$43,546 

31 

32,605 

3.914 




80,096 




102,362 




93.697 




82,285 












4.173 




3.395 




2,390 




4.567 












34 

430 

12,038 




12 

1.073 

14.338 




17 

1,028 

12,796 




53 


















14,990 












12,502 




15.423 




13.841 




16,165 










6,290 


250 
1.946 


13.410 


556 
1,987 
88 
* 

1,890 


25.637 


939 
1,680 

854 

47 

2,013 


18,201 


1.321 
2,192 
t236 

t47 
2,270 

19 
3 












* 
1,784 






















36 












15 








10 






















343 
200 




365 
255 




164 

338 




336 
171 


4,000 


5.350 


10,450 


4.237 




543 




620 




502 




S°7 














186 


98 

5.765 

13 

579 

241 

786 


26 


7 

5,257 

18 

1,033 

248 

1. 139 

53 

235 

590 

1,878 


t63 


t33 

5.171 

29 

536 
T195 
1,285 




3,164 

52 




















289 

1.396 

6 

444 
2.185 
1,840 




























458 

958 

2.653 






507 
1,864 
2,126 










1.733 


2,322 


1,922 


1,886 



+ Annual average, 1894-1897. 

279 



X 1897 only. 



PUERTO RICO 



QUANTITY AND VALUE OF DOMESTIC MERCHANDISI 

RICO DURING THE FIVE YEAR^ 

NON-AGRICULTURAr 



ARTICLES EXPORTED. 


1893. 


1894. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Wood, and manufactures of : 
Lumber — 

Boards, deals, and planks M feet 


8,29s 
1,199 


$133,341 
15,731 
8,183 
125 
5,301 
71,43° 
28,311 
4,605 

46 
340 

2,320 

143 

2,151 

25,624 

941 
3,955 


10,353 
826 


$161,697 
11,105 
10,040 

2,605 
11,364 
95,796 
18,516 

9,470 




Shingles M 


65 


893 


Shocks, Other number 


46,410 


59,413 








Timber- 


3 










Manufactures of wood- 








Moldings, trimmings, and other house 






340 

326 

22,521 

577 
2,869 




































302,547 




347,226 








Wool, manufactures of : 

Carpets yards 












239 
67 






Other 
















Total 




306 














Zinc, manufactures of : 

Pigs, bars, plates, and sheets pounds 












94 
94 




32 








Total 






32 












7,525 


















853,432 




879,725 









I 



* Not separately stated. 



APPENDIX 



EXPORTED FROM THE UNITED STATES TO PUERTO 
ENDED JUNE 30, 1 897 — Concluded 

^•ROJi\JCTS— Concluded 



1895. 


1896. 


1897. 


Annual average, 1893- 
1897. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


9,24s 


$134,587 
7,450 

1,707 
6,711 
106,031 
ii,8S5 
4,91s 

3,300 


8,235 
607 

140 


$117,186 
6,763 

446 

12,107 

101,458 

14,127 

S,ooo 


9,403 
,^83 

609 


$122,524 
1,986 

1,188 
3,097 
72,810 
9,360 
2,506 

60 


9,106 
663 


$133,867 

8,607 

t9,'" 

1,214 

7,716 

89,505 

16.434 

S.299 

681 


803 


502 


77,301 


64,224 


43,553 


58,180 










310 




6 


64 






68 




24 

212 

421 

18,120 

397 
2,510 












469 

19» 

753 

19,697 

592 

3,598 






64 

518 

16,518 

547 

4,897 




201 

349 

15,700 

497 

3,759 














































298,240 




279,631 




234,037 




292,336 










SO 


40 










10 


8 




150 
45 




30 
27 


84 
49 




107 


















147 




195 




57 
























601 


39 
20 


120 


8 




16 




236 

236 


79 














16 




59 




87 














800 




16 




168 




1,702 














781,751 




868,504 




794,323 




835,547 













t Annual average, 1893-1894. 



. INDEX 



Adjuntas — the population of ; coffee- 
raising the principal industry, 45 

Aguadilla, a town on the west coast, 
96 

Aguas Buenas — on the military road; 
scenery like Arizona and New 
Mexico ; hillside huts, 57 ; a cos- 
mopolitan town ; elusive Spanish 
measure, 58 

Antillean mountain-range — charac- 
teristics of ; the immense depth of 
water, 27 ; speculations concern- 
ing the early geological formation; 
second period of subsidence, 28 ; 
coral terraces ; geological forma- 
tions of today ; variation in qual- 
ity and color of limestone ; fine 
for building purposes, 29 ; excel- 
lent material for road-making ; 
minerals, 30 

Appendix — trade of Puerto Rico ; 
agricultural imports in 1894 and 
1895, 253 ; agricultural exports 
in 1894 and 1895, 257 ; quantity 
and value of imports into United 
States in 1897, 260; exports from 
the United States, 270 

Arecibo — a city attractive to the eye, 
13 ; a large coffee town on the 
north coast, 196 

Arroyo, an open roadstead, 11 

Arvitrios, a dealer's license, 229 



B 



Bay rum, the manufacture of, could 
be expanded into a large com- 
mercial enterprise, 77 

Bay-tree, luxuriant growths of, 77 

Bricks — rude machinery for making ; 
manner of making ; price of ; fine 
qualities of clay abundant, 81 

Burden-bearing — the bread-wagon ; 
serving milk from the cow, 168 ; 
a vegetable - carrier ; hucksters' 
commodities served from planks 
carried on their heads; remarkable 
equilibrious feat, 169 ; banana- 
venders ; orange-venders ; a pony- 
load, 170 ; marvelous staying 
quality of the pony ; oxen the 
principal draft animals, active and 
fast travelers ; manner of yoking ; 
cruelty of the drivers ; structure of 
the ox-cart ; spook-like lanterns ; 
island-made carriages comfort- 
able and cheap ; narrow-gauge 
street-cars, 173 ; evening cries, 

174 
Burials and cemeteries — the last 
journey to the grave ; absence of 
sympathy, 209 ; the potter's 
field, 210 ; service of the burial 
of the poor ; a happy release ; 
burial without coffins, 211 ; no 
burial in the cemeteries without a 
certificate from the priest ; cost 



283 



INDEX 



Burials and cemeteries — Continued 
of church service for the dead, 
212 ; wall niches, the cost of ; 
disposition of the bodies on fail- 
ure of the next instalment ; mor- 
tuary decorations ; cramped quar- 
ters ; noisome pest-holes ; in the 
pauper lot bodies are thrown out 
every three years, 213 

Butter — the importation of ; price 
of, 74 



Caguas — on the great military road ; 
one of the largest tobacco towns ; 
an opening for Americans, 194 

Carrosones, or sugar-apples — fruit 
looks like inverted Swiss cheeses ; 
very palatable, 138 

Cattle-raising — bright future for ; 
no need for hay-making ; suc- 
culent green bunch -grass the 
year round ; exportation of cattle 
and hides, 72 ; like the famous 
long-horned cattle of Texas ; a 
paradise for ; abundance of food 
and water, 73 ; cost of cattle-rais- 
ing land, 74 

Cayey — a great tobacco center ; hot- 
bed of Spanish sympathizers, 37 ; 
shiftless business methods of the 
Spanish tobacconists, 194 ; a most 
delightful climate ; best cigars on 
the island are made here ; fine 
sanitary possibilities, 195 

Cedula Personal — a certificate of 
identity which everyone was com- 
pelled to take out ; the expense 
of, 229 

Cheese — a ready market for ; quality 
of the native product, 74 

Chino, a sweet green orange, 133 



Climate — general character of ; fa- 
vorable to the troops, 15 ; tem- 
perature in summer ; dangers of 
fever ; the dry season, 16 ; tem- 
perature in winter ; differences be- 
tween sunlight and shade ; causes 
of pneumonia ; rainfall ; the 
rainy season, 17 ; summer heat, 
19 ; character of, on the southern 
coast, 20 ; the most salubrious, in 
the western hemisphere, within 
the torrid zone, 26 ; sudden 
changes of temperature, 50 ; in 
winter everything that a tourist 
or invalid could desire, 83 ; favor- 
able for tobacco culture, 117 

Cock-fighting — the only real recrea- 
tioa of the rural Puertoriquenos ; 
bull-fighting never gained a foot- 
hold ; every town has at least one 
cock-pit ; construction of, 175 ; 
Sunday afternoons are always de- 
voted to this pastime ; all classes 
at the mains, 176 ; birds fight 
with their own gaffs ; manner of 
handling the birds, 177 ; manner 
of reviving the birds between 
rounds, 178 ; an orderly crowd, 
179 

Coffee — primitive coffee-breaker, 
59 ; first in importance as an 
industry ; no special training re- 
quired to raise it, 85 ; tree shelter 
required to protect it from the 
sun ; ' ' Yauco " brand for the 
French ; price of good coffee- 
land, 86 ; cost of transportation 
over the hills, 87 ; cost of starting 
a new plantation, 88 ; profits 
from, 89 ; lack of system in plant- 
ing ; character of the shade-trees, 
90 ; the berry-pickers, 91 ; wage 
of, 92 ; " side-issue " coffee ; man- 



284 



INDEX 



Coffee — Continued 

ner of preparing the berry, 93 ; 
polishing process ; manner of 
transplantation ; drying by ma- 
chinery, 95 ; machinery of Ameri- 
can make ; manner of sorting 
the berries ; hand-picking the 
berries, 96 ; song and labor ; 
prime coffee, price of ; lower 
grades ; quantity exported, 97 ; 
infancy of the industry ; France 
the heaviest purchaser ; its fine 
flavor, 98 ; growth of the indus- 
try, 99 

Compania de la Ferrocarriles de 
Puerto Rico — length of road, 68 ; 
badly-laid road ; inefficient ser- 
vice ; speed of ; revocation of 
the franchise, 69 

Corn — scarce and high-priced ; diffi- 
culties of raising it ; the crop ; 
average price of, 75 

Cotton, cannot be raised to compete 
with the foreign article, 76 

Court of Military Justice, a place 
where private grudges were set- 
tled, 235 

Courts — faulty judicial system ; mili- 
tary autocracy, 232 ; Juez Mu- 
nicipal, one of the three principal 
courts ; Juez de Instruccion, the 
next highest ; Madrid the final 
appeal ; jury system unknown 
in Spanish law ; the courts hot- 
beds of corruption and brib- 
ery, 234 ; imprisonment without 
a hearing ; prohibitive bail ; set- 
tling old grudges ; tradesmen im- 
prisoned who importuned officers 
for store bills ; muzzling the 
press ; systematic bulldozing of 
private citizens, 235 ; swindling 
methods ; payments under pres- 



sure ; the usual way of settling a 
case, 236 ; any means justifies an 
end, 237 ; the laws of the island a 
farce, 238 
Customs duties, proportion of reve- 
nue from, 228 



D 



Dairy - farming — drawbacks to ; 
milking time ; difficulties of keep- 
ing the milk ; prices, 74 

" Dark Cave " — a rival to Mam- 
moth Cave, 56 ; a beautiful en- 
trance, 60 ; odoriferous torches ; 
a spider to be avoided ; millions 
of bats, 61 ; the roar of their 
wings ; crab-hunting, 62 ; a 
weird sight ; character of the 
rock ; lost in the cave ; a tough 
scramble; color of the stalactites ; 
two thousand feet above the sea, 

64 

Deputaccion Provincial — ^board of 
public works ; its duties and its 
functions, 230 

Dyewoods — forests abound with 
them ; among them being, the 
brazil-wood {CcBsalpinia echinaia) ; 
fustic {Madura tinciorid) ; divi- 
divi [Ccesalpinia coriaria) ; mora 
{Morinda cetrifolid) ; annotto 
{Bixa orelland), 143 



E 



Eastern shore — fine natural advan- 
tages ; protected harbors ; com- 
ing possibilities ; innumerable 
coral reefs, 12 

Edible fruits, 22 ; nature's abun- 
dance, 38 



285 



INDEX 



Eggs — limited quantity'; price con- 
trolled by "age"; impossible to 
keep them, 75 

Electricity, needed for light, heat, 
and power, 70 

El Yunque, the highest point on the 
island, 60 

Evacuation of Puerto Rico — formal 
release from Spain ; date of with- 
drawal ; the night before, 2 ; the 
last Spanish bugle-call ; annihila- 
tion of happy homes, 4 ; crowds 
waiting for the signal, 5 ; raising 
of the stars and stripes, 6 ; offi- 
cers who raised the flags, 7 



Fajardo, a town on the east coast, 
196 

Floriculture, the island a glowing 
flowering mass in the spring, 128 

Frijoles, a Spanish red bean, 151 

Fruit-raising — sometimes four crops 
a year ; the country a mass of 
fruit blossoms in the early spring, 
128 ; planted, for fruition, several 
times a year ; varieties of oranges 
and lemons grow wild, I2g ; soil 
superior to Florida or Califor- 
nia ; almost every tropical and 
semi-tropical frui't grows to per- 
fection, 130 ; exports to the 
United States in 1898 ; plantains 
and bananas the principal articles 
of diet ; varieties of, 131 ; profits 
of plantain culture, 132 ; possi- 
bilities of the future culture ; 
shaddock, 133 ; limes, delicate 
odor of the blossoms ; pineapples, 
famous for their delicious flavor ; 
the most inviting investment for 
Americans, 134 ; cocoanuts in 



abundance ; tree very hardy and 
prolific ; cocoanut oil ; the cocoa- 
tree ; cocoa and chocolate, the 
price of, 135 ; guava flowers 
have a delightful fragrance ; 
pomegranates, fine in quality, but 
little demand for, 137; date-palm 
grows to magnificent proportions ; 
figs raised in small quantities ; 
tamarind reaches a high degree of 
perfection ; pawpaw, fruit in 
bunches like squashes, flavor like 
muskmelon, valuable for indi- 
gestion and gastric troubles, 138 ; 
mayama, too acrid for the aver- 
age taste ; granadilla, a species of 
passion-flower, the fruit of which 
has a delightful flavor and aroma ; 
breadfruits and breadnuts in 
quantities ; manner of cooking, 
139 ; would please the American 
palate, 140 

Fruta del pan, a species of large 
breadfruit, 139 

Fuel, scarcity of, 70, 78 



Garbonzas, a succulent pea, not un- 
like a cooked chestnut in flavor, 

151 

Gedianda — a bushy weed bearing a 
narrow pod ; a substitute for cof- 
fee ; said to have great medicinal 
virtues ; preferable to chicory, 
141 

Gondinga, a hash made of chopped 
kidneys and liver seasoned with 
garlic and split olives, 15 1 

Guanica — beautiful harbor of, 10 ; 
its commercial deterioration 
traced to political discrimination 
in San Juan, 11 



286 



INDEX 



Guida, a simple musical instrument 
made of a gourd, played by scrap- 
ing the etched sides with an um- 
brella wire, 164 

Gums and resins — guaiac gum, 
from the lignum-vitse tree ; from 
the seeds and leaves of the In- 
dian shot (copey) ; balsam of 
copaiba from the Copaifera ; 
algarroba, which produces a gum 
known as catechu, used for dye- 
ing and tanning ; cashew, from 
which a varnish is made, 144 



H 



"Heart of the Black Hand" 
country, 42 ; insignia on the 
doorways of houses, 45 

Hillside homes — palm-made huts, 
47 ; " clinging to the hillsides in 
defiance of the laws of gravita- 
tion," 157, 158 

Historical sketch — the island 
visited by Columbus on his second 
voyage ; Don Juan Ponce de 
Leon takes possession of the 
island, 250 ; a century later the 
aboriginal folk nearly all de- 
stroyed ; the many attacks on 
San Juan ; captured by the Earl 
of Cumberland in 1598, but from 
that time until the American flag 
was hoisted in 1898, none but the 
Spanish flag ever floated over the 
island, 251 

Home-life — a hospitality seasoned 
with garlic and sweet oil ; a cor- 
dial welcome to Americans, 145 ; 
power and prosperity confined to 
the few ; hands stretched out 
with joy at their emancipation, 
146 ; a handful of malcontents ; 



simplicity of home-life ; house 
decorations ; chiefly cane-seated 
furniture, 147 ; rare antiques ; 
absence of taste in arrangement ; 
artistic beds of brass and metal, 
148 ; scarcity of toilet articles ; 
the kitchen a place to be avoided ; 
methods of cookery, 149 ; cordial 
relations between the Ohio regi- 
ment and the natives ; marked 
hospitality to American officers, 
150 ; disastrous effect of meat 
diet ; a rich planter's dinner ; 
queer dishes ; garbonzas and 
frijoles ; deviled land-crabs, 151 ; 
good bread resembling the 
French ; table decorations ; table 
napkins ; abstemiousness of the 
people ; the morning meal, 152 ; 
the hearty meal of the day ; posi- 
tion of honor at table ; evenings 
at home ; not a reading people, 

153 

Hotels — quality of ; every roadside 
hut an eating-place ; fine opening 
for enterprising Bonifaces, espe- 
cially for winter patronage, 82 

Humacoa, a sugar town in the 
southeastern portion of the 
island, 196 

Hurricanes — destructive in the past ; 
puny affairs compared with the 
cyclones on our prairies, 19 ; pre- 
vailing winds, 20 



Ice-plants, the need for, 72 
" Isle of the Gate of Gold," 9 



Jobos, fine harbor with ample sea- 
room, II 



287 



INDEX 



Jobos de la India — a kind of plum, 
fine in flavor and as large as a 
lemon ; a powerful mucilage is 
made from the exudations of the 
tree, 137 



Land — the cost of cattle pastures, 
74 ; price of good coffee-lands, 
86 ; of tobacco-lands, 122 

La Playa — the seaport of Ponce ; 
population about 3,500, 190 

Lares — a coffee town ; Spanish in 
sentiment, 51 ; the approach to, 
52 ; cost of timber at, 78 ; almost 
inaccessible from the coast ; can 
only be reached by execrable 
trails, 195 ; the very heart of the 
coffee district, 196 

Las Marias, a dirty, unkempt vil- 
lage, 54 



M 



Manufactures, will depend largely 
upon the action of Congress, 80 

Market-gardening, a responsive 
soil for, 77 

Mayaguez — only city with street- 
cars, 173 ; one of the three large 
centers ; population about 12,000 ; 
architecture light and graceful, 
191 

Medicinal trees, shrubs, and herbs 
grow in great abundance, 142 

Military road — a feat of engineer- 
ing skill ; by whom constructed, 
32 ; character of ; character of 
branch roads and trails, 33 ; de- 
stroyed villas ; gorgeous scenery, 
35 ; impregnable positions on, 
36 ; a dream of fairyland ; the 



reality ; coffee plantations on, 37 ; 
a journey to be remembered, 40 ; 
the only feasible road for travel, 
84 

Minerals — possibilities of the island 
yet unsolved ; iron of good qual- 
ity ; scarcity of coal ; gold in the 
mountain streams, 30; manner of 
obtaining it ; copper, lead, gar- 
nets, quartz crystals, and agates, 
in small quantities, 31 

Money of the island — the financial 
plaything of Spain ; meeting the 
bond issue of the Spanish govern- 
ment, 214 ; change of legal ten- 
der ; complications in foreign ex- 
change ; the reign of the Mexi- 
can dollar, 215 ; temporary paper 
money ; change of standard ; 
effect of the introduction of 
American money, 216 ; no bank- 
ing system approved by the Span- 
ish government ; the floating 
capital of the country ; municipal 
and school reserves milked by the 
retiring Spaniards, 217 ; local 
bank notes redeemable on de- 
mand ; not guaranteed by the 
government ; interest on deposits, 
218 ; rates of exchange a possible 
hardship ; scaling the rates ; pre- 
mium on American money ; rates 
at Vieques ; criticism and scandal 
are possible outcomes, 220 ; 
sharp practice of the Treasury 
agents ; miscellaneous brokerage ; 
rise of prices, 221 ; Americans 
paying as they go ; solution of 
the money problem ; effect of es- 
tablishing a bullion value alone, 
222 ; dearth of money the curse 
of the island ; the usual results of 
barter ; a decrease in the purchas- 



INDEX 



Money of the island — Continued 
ing power would result in dis- 
aster, 223 ; necessity for remint- 
ing the Puerto Rican peso ; arbi- 
trary ruling, 224 

Mosquito plague, 19 

Mountain traveling — difficulties of, 
in the spring months, 18 ; rough 
roads, 34 ; knife-edged ridges, 58 ; 
a corduroy road ; feats of stair- 
climbing, 59 



N 



Nispero, a delectable fruit with an 
indescribable nectar flavor, 136 



O 



Octroi, a duty on every article of 

food, beverage, or fuel, and fee 

paid by the seller, 229 
Orchids — found in great variety ; in 

forms that make one silent with 

wonder, 144 



Pawpaw, a tree bearing bunches 
of fruit like squashes, taste like 
muskmelon of fine flavor, 138 

Peasant life — its squalor and filth ; 
contagious diseases ; nature's sup- 
ply of food ; scant clothing, 155 ; 
average wages, 156 ; house-rent 
an almost unknown quantity ; 
garden spots free in exchange for 
labor, 157 ; hillside houses ; the 
staple article of food, 158 ; the 
early life of the children ; short 
lives of the children ; simple 
house construction, 159 ; sleeping 
accommodations; rag-baby 
saints ; simple playthings for the 



children, 160 ; cooking utensils 
and service ; primitive marriage 
forms ; the church an obstacle to 
marriage, 161 ; common-law mar- 
riages ; constancy and devotion 
the rule ; chronic diseases com- 
mon ; goiter, elephantiasis, anae- 
mic malaria, 162 ; quinine an 
unreachable luxury ; blindness 
common ; blind beggars have reg- 
ular posts, 163 ; music of the 
peons ; the dancing step, 164 ; 
illiteracy of the peons ; immoral- 
ity in the towns ; preponderance 
of the abject poor ; a possible 
Garden of Eden, 166 ; bringing 
the poor into town to die, 170 

Physical ailments, 22 ; hygienic pre- 
cautions ; malarial affections ; 
preventive measures ; causes of ; 
ability of the native doctor, 23 ; 
the ' ' tropic liver " ; malaria the 
worst foe ; change of climate 
necessary, 24 ; high cost of medi- 
cine ; danger from colds ; yellow 
fever not to be feared, 25 ; cases 
have occurred in barracks, pris- 
ons, and at the coast towns ; it is 
unknown in the country ; it is a 
disease of the night ; sanitary sug- 
gestions, 26 

Planters' hospitality, 54 ; their 
houses and surroundings, 55 

Political methods — the laws mean- 
ingless vaporings, 238 ; the fact 
that there are no gold-mines on 
the island has saved the peons 
from much oppression ; no gov- 
ernment reports of receipts until 
the beginning of the present cen- 
tury ; the government formerly 
supported by taxes levied in Mex- 
ico, until the rebellion in 1810 ; 



289 



INDEX 



Political methods — Continued 

liberal terms to colonists, 239 ; 
the general laws exceedingly lib- 
eral to them ; the inducements 
offered doubled the population in 
fifteen years ; office-holders stole 
everything ; Governor De la 
Torre w^orks a change ; under his 
administration the island was 
self-supporting for the first time 
in its history ; gross peculations 
curtailed to limits of decency, 
240 ; Governor-General the su- 
preme power of the island ; un- 
just discriminations ; " Eldu- 
ayen," another unjust law ; effects 
of the Cuban scare, 241; no benefit 
from the new laws ; members of 
the Autonomy Commission ; no 
hope from the Canovas ministry, 
242 ; division of the house into 
Liberals and Autonomista Puros ; 
schemes of Lower House ; au- 
tonomy granted, 243 ; peons sell- 
ing themselves for office ; the 
masses against the classes ; 
"Glory Day," 245; greed for 
pecuniary aggrandizement ; the 
landing of the Americans ended 
the faction fights, 246 ; conflict 
of authority ; universal suffrage 
impossible at present, 247 ; eighty 
per cent, who can neither read 
nor write ; one-eighth of the peo- 
ple own the island ; urgent need 
for practical education ; necessity 
for primary lessons in control of 
affairs ; can Americans bring 
order out of chaos ? 249 

Ponce — its harbor and surround- 
ings, II ; the population of, 188 

Pork — quality of the native article ; 
imported chiefly from the United 



States ; raising of hogs a doubt- 
ful experiment, 75 
P o u 1 1 r y — breeding game-cocks 
mainly ; quality of the chickens, 

75 
Principal cities — the coast towns 
have less favorable climate than 
those on the hills ; sanitary con- 
ditions generally bad, 180 ; San 
Juan, the leading city in popu- 
lation ; the seat of the island 
government ; immense sea-walls 
and massive fortifications, 181 ; 
narrov/and dark streets, 182 ; the 
grand theater ; clubs and casinos, 
183 ; fine barracks ; founded by 
Ponce de Leon in 1511 ; restricted 
area ; sanitary conditions easily 
improved ; the water-works just 
approaching completion ; imper- 
fect construction ; quantity of the 
water-supply ; precautions against 
trouble in the filter beds ; planned 
by a Scotch engineer ; plans 
stolen from the post-office under 
the direction of the Governor- 
General ; cost of the plant, 187; 
Ponce, the population of ; possi- 
bilities for expansion ; well built 
and well paved ; hospitals, 
schools, and clubs ; the best cafes 
on the island, 189 ; no wharfage ; 
commercially second in rank ; 
good connections with the neigh- 
boring districts, igo ; Mayaguez, 
one of the three large centers ; 
the lightness and grace of its archi- 
tecture ; population about 12,000 ; 
the ' ' white population " difficult 
to determine ; easy to drain, 191 ; 
few evidences of poverty ; big 
coffee-mills ; large tannery, 192 ; 
small industries ; ice- and elec- 



290 



INDEX 



Principal cities — Continued 

trie-light plants ; the only town 
on the island which has a street- 
railway ; poor harbor ; fine bar- 
racks, hospitals, and cathedral ; a 
delightful little opera-house, 193 ; 
a charming park ; Americans un- 
welcome at the Spanish club ; 
Caguas, a large tobacco center ; 
poor business methods of the 
Spaniards, 194 ; Cayey, another 
tobacco center ; a good opening 
for Americans, 194 ; a most de- 
lightful climate ; fine cigar fac- 
tories ; fine commercial possibil- 
ities, 195 ; Lares, only approach 
to, by execrable trails ; a busy, 
thriving town ; very hospitable to 
strangers ; the very heart of the 
great coffee district ; richest 
haciendas on the island ; wanton 
destruction by native bandits ; 
Yauco and Arecibo, coffee towns 
on the coast ; Guayama and 
Humacoa, sugar towns on the 
southeast ; Fajardo and Agua- 
dilla, other small coast towns, 
196 

Provisional Minister of Justice, in- 
vested with supreme power, 
234 

Puerto Rico — first impressions of ; 
" Isle of the Gate of Gold," g ; 
mountain-ranges, 10 ; scarcity of 
harbors ; area of the island ; re- 
markable fertility ; mountain- 
ridges, 14 ; wonderful possibili- 
ties ; a tropical Elysium ; the 
" Mecca of America," 15 ; advan- 
tages over all the other West In- 
dian islands, 21 ; a desert for a 
poor man ; questionable employ- 
ment, 65 ; expensive living ; 

29 



cheap clothing, 66 ; cost of ordi- 
nary luxuries ; the native menu, 
cheap fruits, 67 



Railroad construction, many diffi- 
culties offered, 71 

Rainy seasons — spring rains, 17 ; 
yearly fall, 18 ; autumnal deluges, 
20 

Revengeful Puertoriquenos — de- 
struction of property during the 
transition period, 53 ; a native's 
idea of the Spanish character, 54 

Revenues and taxes — burden of 
taxation ; money in circulation 
per capita ; compared with the 
United States, 225 ; direct taxa- 
tion ; comparison with New York 
State, 226 ; a pitiable commercial 
and industrial condition ; cost of 
the Army, Navy, and Church, 227 ; 
the "Ultra Mar"; sharing the 
expenses of the war with Cuba ; 
taxes swallowed up by officials ; 
customs and stamp duties, 228 ; 
sinecures for informers and spies ; 
no real-estate transfers without a 
bribe to the recorder ; the postal 
system; " Cedula Personal," a 
certificate of identity; "Arvit- 
rios," license for dealers; "Oc- 
troi," duty paid on every article 
of food or fuel, 229 ; board of 
public v/orks ; government lot- 
tery scheme ; cost of collecting 
the revenue ; two sets of collect- 
ors ; the police force, 230 ; taxa- 
tion excessive ; disproportionate 
civil list ; every position a sine- 
cure, 231 



INDEX 



Rice — the native product ; importa- 
tion of ; immense quantities con- 
sumed, 76 ; possibilities of its 
successful cultivation, 77 

Rio Piedras, suburban town of San 
Juan, 38 

Rivers — deep and fast-flow^ing ; dan- 
gerous character of, for naviga- 
tion, 13 ; innumerable small 
streams the cause of exceptional 
fertility, 20 ; value as vv^ater 
pow^er, 21 

Road-houses — counters opening on 
the road ; places for refreshment 
for the oxen-drivers, 39 

Roof-tiles, made by hand, 81 



San Juan — vi^ithdrawal of Spanish 
troops, 3 ; marriage betw^een 
Spanish soldiers and Puerto Rican 
women, 4 ; massive fortifications, 

6 ; extensive barracks ; immense 
quantity of captured war material, 

7 ; curious metamorphosis, 8 ; 
political discrimination in favor 
of, II ; picturesque approach to, 
39 ; the seat of the island govern- 
ment ; best harbor on the island ; 
immense sea-walls and defensive 
structures, 181 ; direct tax on all 
the real estate on the island as- 
sessed here, 229 ; captured by 
the Earl of Cumberland in 1598 ; 
the Dutch repulsed in 1615 ; for 
three hundred years no flag 
floated over the town but the 
Spanish, 251 

Schools, churches, and charitable 
institutions — bad administration ; 
appropriation for public instruc- 



tion, ''198 ; proportion of children 
in the population ; appropriation 
pro rata for educational purposes, 
199 ; poor accommodations ; sal- 
ary list of teachers, 200 ; teaching 
considered a menial employment ; 
attendance at the schools ; oral 
system of teaching, 201 ; schools 
for grown-up poor ; percentage 
of illiteracy ; good natural ability 
of the peons, 202 ; America the 
ideal savior ; the priests' opinion 
of the people ; the people's opin- 
ion of the priests ; no purity in 
the administration of the holy in- 
stitutions, 203 ; seventy-one cathe- 
drals on the island ; salaries of the 
clergy ; the life of, 204 ; church 
used to foster political ends ; 
prospects as to the future sup- 
port of the church ; divorce im- 
possible under the law ; the basis 
for possible separation, 205 ; 
scant provision for the poor and 
sickly ; lack of comforts in the 
homes for the destitute poor, 206 ; 
loathsome roadside beggars ; the 
dying abandoned by their friends, 
207 ; no money ; no medicine ; 
the inbred brutality of Spain, 
208 

Spices — raised in small quantities ; 
soil and climate favorable for all 
varieties, 142 

Springs, thermal, mineral, and me- 
dicinal, 83 

Stamp duties, proportion of revenue 
from, 228 

Starch, made from the yautia and 
cassava roots, 141 

Straw-hat making — the variety of 
material for ; rice-straw, scores of 
grasses, and tree barks, 80 



292 



INDEX 



Sugar — the chief product of the 
island, in avoirdupois, loi ; 
growth of the industry ; money 
value of the crop, 102 ; the past 
and present conditions, 103 ; 
average number of pounds to the 
acre ; methods of culture ; trans- 
planting the cane, 104 ; anti- 
quated machinery ; by-products, 
rum and alcohol, 105 ; visages of 
laborers ; a problem for the 
planters, 106 ; the factor of trans- 
portation ; process of manufac- 
ture, 107 ; abandoned mills, 108 ; 
prohibitory tariff on American 
machinery, log ; centralizing the 
industry; profits of, no; insuffi- 
ciency of cane ; cost of cultivation 
of. III ; life of the root ; plow- 
ing ; manner of ditching and 
draining ; contract farming, 112 ; 
transportation an important item ; 
profit-sharing ; profit of sugar- 
lands, 113 ; crop double that of 
the United States, 114 



Timber — scarcity of ; cost at Lares, 
78 

Tobacco — the culture of ; Cuba the 
largest customer, 115 ; sold in the 
United States with the Havana 
brand ; methods of manufacture 
unskilled and slovenly, 116; soil 
and climate favorable to its cul- 
ture ; quality deteriorates when 
manufactured in the north, 117 ; 
variation of the exports of the 
leaf ; estimated amount of quan- 
tity raised, 118 ; favorable lands 
for cultivation ; preparation of ; 
screens to protect the plant from 



the winds, 119 ; grown chiefly in 
small patches ; draining and gut- 
tering ; cutting time, 120 ; need 
for careful attention ; imperfect 
method of curing ; the weakest 
side of the culture ; time required 
for curing, 121 ; sweating proc- 
ess ; price of land ; principal 
buyers, 122 ; the average quality 
of the cigars is vile ; the price of, 
123 ; bacteria-bearing cigars ; 
lack of skilled workmen, 124 ; 
wages of ; varieties of cigarettes ; 
plug-tobacco ropes one hundred 
feet long, 125 ; not a desirable 
article ; the better class of women 
not smokers ; present price of 
the leaf, 126 ; fine quality of the 
wrapper ; ' a bright future for the 
industry, 127 

Tradesmen, chiefly Spanish, ca- 
pable and polite, 84 

Trail - riding — character of the 
roads, 41 ; from Ponce to Maya- 
guez ; time of trip ; market ven- 
ders on the road ; " Heart of the 
Black Hand " country, 42 ; modes 
of travel ; suburban residences ; 
home of the well-to-do, 43 ; a 
" camino reale " ; picturesque 
scenery on the way ; view from 
the mountain road toward Ad- 
juntas, 44 ; a question of dis- 
tance ; a perilous path ; harmless 
natives, 46 ; winding paths ; in- 
secure habitations, 47 ; an inci- 
dent on the road ; " no rest for 
the weary " ; cross-purposes, 49 ; 
a beautiful panorama ; hillside 
maize - fields ; plowing on the 
hillside, 50 ; dangerous mud- 
holes ; castellated mountain 
farms, 51 ; lost on the trail, 52 ; 



293 



INDEX 



Trail-riding — Continued 

a perilous track : a change of 
steeds, 53 ; a coffee-planter on 
guard ; plantation hospitality, 54 

Tramway, from San Juan to Rio 
Piedras, 69 

Trolley lines — great future for, 6g ; 
advantages over steam, 70 

V 

Vegetables — a great variety grown ; 
sweet potatoes and yams reach a 
high degree of perfection ; Irish 
potatoes grown on the hillside are 
fine, 140 ; yautia and cassava, 
starchy edible roots ; gedianda, a 
weed bearing a narrow pod, a sub- 
stitute for coffee, 141 

Vieques — low in contour, but very 
fertile, 12 ; finest sugar-land in 
the province, 104 

W 
Wages — coffee-berry pickers, 92 ; 



average of the peons, about fifty 

cents Spanish per day, 106 ; of 

cigar-makers, 125, 156 
Winds, in October, north and 

northeast, 20 
Woods, asoubo, capa blanca, capa 

prieta, capa de sabana, aceitillo, 
■ cedro, tachuelo, ciera, and others, 

79 



Yauco, a coffee town on the south 
coast, 196 

Yautia, a big lily, with edible tuber- 
like roots, much esteemed by the 
natives, 141 

Yellow fever — not to be feared ; 
has never been epidemic on the 
island, 25 ; confined chiefly to 
barracks and prisons ; not heard 
of on the hills ; is a disease of the 
night, 26 



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